


In Love and War

by ofgodsandstars



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Different Powers, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Angst, Angst and Feels, Background Relationships, Bang Chan is Whipped, Battle, Boys In Love, Constellations, Dark Magic, Drama, Drama & Romance, Elemental Magic, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Epic Battles, Falling In Love, Fantasy, Fantasy AU, Final Battle, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Inspired by stray kids MAMA 2020, Intimacy, Lee Felix is Whipped (Stray Kids), Lee Felix-centric (Stray Kids), Light Angst, Literal Sleeping Together, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Magic-Users, Magical Realism, Magical Tattoos, Making Out, Mild Blood, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Smut, Multi, Other, Plot Twists, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Romantic Fluff, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements, War, Work In Progress, Worldbuilding, mama 2020, skz - Freeform, stray kids - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:06:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 41,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28768305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofgodsandstars/pseuds/ofgodsandstars
Summary: Prince Felix is born under the prophetic constellation of Virgo in his home kingdom of Parthenos; but his birth signals an omen of destruction to all Five Cosmic Nations.When a new evil causes war to break out, Prince Felix is sent away under the protection of Chief Chan of the Tribe of Vekten.Will he find true power along the way, or will he find true love instead?Will all Five Kingdoms be lost to the darkness, or will Felix stand a chance at saving them?
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Felix, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin
Comments: 122
Kudos: 184
Collections: Chanlix





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by SKZ's MAMA 2020 performance where they pulled off this incredible warrior themed routine. I simply had to write an entire universe based on it :3  
> I've kept this AU as PG 16 as possible, theres alot of romance and fluff as the chapters progress :3 there is fighting and violence as it is warrior themed, but nothing too severe
> 
> See end notes!

Intro  
Chapter 1 - The Prophetic Prince

The day had waxed gracefully into night, with the moon and the constellation of Virgo shining brightly down, on that prophetic evening that the Kingdom of Parthenos welcomed their new prince. 

The Kingdom had a special way of anointing the next in line. Unlike traditional monarchies where the ruler's child would someday take the seat on the throne, the Kingdom of Parthenos chose their leaders according to an ancient prophecy. 

The next king or queen would be born under the Kingdom's patron zodiac, Virgo, and on the night of the prophetic child's birth, the constellation would glow so bright that not another star in the sky could be seen. 

The Seers were the Kingdom's divine leaders, blessed with the power to see when the stars would align again for the next ruler to be born. When the prophecy had come to them that this would be the year of the next ruler, they had watched the sky dutifully each night for the constellation of Virgo. 

And on that night, the citizens of the kingdom had gathered in the streets, on their balconies, in their gardens, gazing into the sky in anticipation when they heard one of their women had gone into labour that night. 

When the constellation shone, they cheered and celebrated. The news had spread that the new Prince had been born, and the kingdom greeted his arrival in celebration. 

The Prince's parents held their child, whom they had named Felix, in their arms as they heard the entire kingdom revelling in celebration of the birth of their son, with the constellation of Virgo shining almost blindingly bright. 

But suddenly, the stars vanished, immediately fading into the dark of the night. The fanfare and the celebrations quietened into a confused murmur. 

Ataara and Bayun, the Prince's parents, were met with a shock of fear, not only at the disappearance of the stars, but how their baby stopped crying the moment they disappeared. 

A few painfully silent seconds passed, before the sky lit up again, but this time with a completely different constellation, with the stars glowing fiery orange.

The baby Prince began to cry softly once again, but this time something spectacular happened. His chest began to glow the same fiery orange as the new constellation, and under the glow, an insignia seemed to form - a five spoked wheel, with a spear through the middle. At the top of the spear, instead of a blade, was a flame. 

The child was in no pain though, it seemed as if it was comforting him. He opened his eyes, quietened, and gurgled at his parents. 

But the surprises of the night were far from over. Another constellation began to burn bright in the sky, the second to form, and the second to not be the missing constellation of Virgo.

Outside, the crowds were getting loud, mostly out of utter confusion, but some were afraid. This had never happened ever before in their history, and it was almost symbolic of something much greater than they had ever seen.

It was ominous. 

The reigning queen, Euridicia, turned to the Council of Seers, who studied the skies, a grim expression on their faces. She turned to the Seer Superior, the most senior of the Council. 

"Sage Ryune, what does this mean? What is happening?" 

"Your Majesty," they replied, "the constellations of Taurus and Aquarius have both replaced that of Virgo. Never before have we seen stars of this colour, or this power."

"Taurus and Aquarius - those are the patron constellations of the kingdoms of Tavros and Verseau. Is this a coincidence?" Euridicia asked.

"No, your Majesty. I'm afraid not. It appears-"

Before they could finish, the sky lit up again, another constellation. 

"The constellation of Aries," Sage Ryune identified. 

"Krios..." Euridicia muttered under her breath with a sinking heart. The Kriotians were a violent, warring race, and the people of Parthenos were a peace loving people; they didnt even have an army. 

The Seers had all now begun convening amongst themselves, they knew this was an omen of what was to come. 

The Prince born today was born under a prophecy like no other, and the fate of the kingdom and its peace would rest on his future. 

The sky lit up with yet another constellation, that of Libra. At this point all four constellations had intersected each other, almost as one. 

"The Tribe of Vekten," Queen Euridicia observed. She watched expectantly with the Seers, a gut feeling and her own power telling her that there was a message they were yet to see. 

And then they saw. 

A singular star shot across the sky, cutting straight through the convoluted constellations, leaving a searing trail behind. It was only then, that Virgo returned, its bright white stars distinct against the rest. 

Some of the crows rejoiced at seeing the familiar smattering across the sky, but the Queen and the Seers exchanged a glance.

"Tell me." She ordered, knowing that the Council already knew what this meant for her kingdom.

"My Queen," Sage Ryune replied, "There is a war coming. A war of the five kingdoms."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just like this was inspired by MAMA 2020 SKZ, I have another AU inspired by Maknae on Top - a gangster themed story of betrayal, deceit and life threatening love affairs.  
> Still in the works but check out the first two chapters of Chronicles of Crime!


	2. Chapter 2 - The Beginning

\- 21 years had passed, and Queen Euridicia had spent that time building up Parthenos' defences and creating an army. It was against her wishes, for Parthenos had never been at war, but she was taking no chances. 

The Council of Seers had expanded to include a circle of Mages, people born with the rare gift of magic. Most of the people of Parthenos had the ability to heal, but magic outside this sphere was incredibly rare. - 

\------

Felix had his sword at the ready, steely eyed and sweat dripping off his brow, waiting for his opponent to charge at him. He tightened his grip on the hilt and waited. 

Nothing. 

He straightened and stood up. "Ok aren't-"

Quick as a flash, his opponent bolted, knocking the blade out of Felix's hand with the hilt of his own sword and bringing the edge of his blade just inches away from Felix's throat. 

Felix tried to maintain his balance, but stumbled backwards, his opponent reached out and caught him.

"Never let your guard down," Minho said, pulling Felix to his feet and handing him his sword, while sheathing his own. 

"No pressure or anything but you know that you're going to need all the practice you can get, and we never know how soon."

Felix rubbed his hand where Minho had hit him. "The Seers have been awfully antsy, I can't say that's a good thing. The Queen has been convening with them alot lately."

"And how does all of that make you feel?"

Felix shrugged, sighing. "I'm in no rush to be king, especially with all this," he gestured around his head wildly with his hands, "prophecy thing everyone's so obsessed with."

Minho smirked as they walked back to the castle. "The night you were born was a big deal you know, 4 different constellations showed up and we've been waiting for war for 21 years."

"Oh I'm sorry do you want the war to get here faster? Let me just use my.....PROPHECY."

The two of them laughed, but stopped short when they got to the castle. The Queen was out at the front, a grim look on her face as she recieved news from one of her advisors. She spotted Felix and Minho in the distance, nodded and said something to her advisor, and then walked to the two men. 

"Felix, General Minho, inside. Immediately."

Minho simply nodded and bowed, but Felix piped up. "Why, what's happened?"

The Queen paused, regarded both of them for an instant, her face a mixture of fear and deep concern. "A declaration of war." She allowed them a moment for it to sink in, then continued. "I need you both in the main chamber now, there are serious plans that have to be made." She walked off, leaving Felix and Minho to gather their thoughts in silence. 

Finally Felix spoke, "I swear I was joking earlier about the war getting here faster."

~

Felix and Minho entered the main chamber, closing the heavy oak doors behind them. Already at the table were the Queen, her main advisor and Sage Ryune. 

Felix took his seat at her side as the Prince, nervous to learn what all this meant for him. He'd been training his whole life to be a king, to defend and protect his land and his people, but he really didnt know if he was ready yet to make any decisions. 

He was relieved when Euridicia led the meeting, already having made a strategy for what was to come. 

"Right," she began, "the news is that Krios has declared war on Parthenos, following an attack on their allied nation, the village of Tavros."

"But why would they declare war on us?" Felix asked, confused, "we didnt do anything, we've never had a problem with either of those nations."

"An army has attacked and laid siege on the the city in our name." Sage Ryune told him. 

"But our army is here," Felix looked at Minho to confirm, who nodded.

"Precisely," Queen Euridicia told him, "from what it seems, some rogue army has used our name in the attack, but we have no idea where this army has come from. It can't be any of the other kingdoms."

"Unless it was an internal attack from Krios to conquer both Tavros and Parthenos," Minho added, "Krios could have sent their army to Tavros to make it look like they'd been attacked by us, then used that to paint themselves as Tavros' saving grace, by declaring war on us."

"That's what I thought initially," the Queen mused, "but our sources say that the entirety of Krios' army is preparing to attack us. Krios, although a powerful Kingdom, does not have such a large army to attack two kingdoms at once."

"The army that has attacked Tavros is massive," Ryune added, addressing Felix and Minho. "The Council has seen it."

Just the then doors opened, and one more person entered the room. It was a representative of the Mages, who looked a little flustered at coming in late. 

"My apologies, your Majesties," he said, bowing to the Queen and Prince. The Queen bowed her head back in acknowledgement, gesturing for him to take a seat.

Minho had already made space for Han, the Mage, who slipped into the seat next to him. They quietly exchanged a few words before the Queen addressed him.

"Mage Han, have you all learnt anything about this army?" 

"Yes your Majesty," Han cleared his throat and addressed the gathering, "the Mages found that the army is emanating a very, very dark magic, ancient magic that we have not encountered before."

Minho shot a worried look at Felix, who was equally as concerned. A normal army was bad enough - but one which had some sort of dark power behind it? They were dealing with something far worse. 

"To clarify, my Queen," Han continued, "you may be correct, one of the nations might have harnessed forbidden magic to create this army."

A silence fell across the room. The Queen rested her chin on folded hands, deeply concerned, but still poised. 

"Alright, whatever we have coming, we must prepare." She turned to her advisor, "the kingdom must be evacuated. Make contact with the United Tribes of Verseau and tell them that our people seek refuge there. Lord Jeongin has always stood by our side, the citizens will be safe there."

She then turned to Sage Ryune. "How long do we have before Krios attacks?"

"We have a week," they replied.

The Queen nodded to herself, turning to Minho. "General, see that the armies are all prepared. Weapons at the ready, defences up. Conduct a reconnaissance sweep of the area so that we can be sure we won't be up against a surprise attack."

Minho bowed his head in agreement.

"Mage Han," the Queen continued, "our shields must be fortified, is there a way the mages can imbue it with more magic?"

"It can be done."

"Good, the mages too, must prepare for battle. We will need them now more than ever if there is magic that we are up against. Ready the healers as well, if there are civilian healers who wish to volunteer I would appreciate it, but do not force them."

"I understand, your Ladyship."

She turned back to Faye, her advisor. "Is he on the way?"

Faye nodded. "I made contact with the Tribe of Vekten immediately, since they travel on the winds, he should be here shortly."

"Vekten?" Felix was confused, "Since when does the Tribe of Vekten get involved in anything?"

The Queen seemed to choose her next words very carefully. "Vekten is impartial, always has been. Which is why, Felix, it is the safest place for you to be until this is all over."

Felix was taken aback. "Excuse me? This is to be my kingdom some day, and I'm running AWAY from a war? What made you think you can make this decision for me?"

Felix's voice was raised, now booming through the room. 

"Felix," Minho whispered to him to try and calm him down. 

"That is precisely why your safety is paramount," the Queen remained even-tempered. "There is no future for this kingdom if it loses its king, is there?"

"Aren't I supposed to fulfill some great prophecy?" Felix had stood up now, and was practically yelling at the Queen, who luckily, was a very understanding woman. 

"Yes, Prince Felix, but that day is not today. Like I said, there will be no prophecy to fulfil if the prophetic prince is harmed. I am taking this decision not only for your sake, but for the sake of this entire kingdom."

"Felix, sit down." Minho spoke up, keeping his tone even and calm. Felix looked at him, desperate and confused, despite the fact that he had lashed out. Minho held his gaze, silently urging him to simply go along with the plan. 

He conceded, and sat back down, quietly. Just then, the doors opened again, and a new figure stepped into the room, one certainly not from Parthenos. 

He was a well built man, decked in warrior's clothes and a ceremonial coat of fur over his shoulders. At his hips were sheaths of swords, and in his hand was a tall spear. His eyes were heterochromatic, one deep brown and one an icy blue, with a scar running right over it. 

He looked at Felix quizzically, then addressed the Queen. "Queen Euridicia," he bowed slightly, "how may the Tribe of Vekten be of service?"

"The Tribe has graciously agreed to provide both safe passage and refuge to our Prince during the course of this war," the Queen made eye contact with the room. "He will be under the protection of their Chief, who stands before us." She then turned to Felix. 

"Prince Felix, meet Chief Chan of the Tribe of Vekten."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have Chan making his first appearance as Chief of the Tribe of Vekten!  
> If you caught on, his entire character design was based off his MAMA look, he exuded such warrior-king vibes!
> 
> Thank you for reading! I love going through your comments so please feel free to share your thoughts!


	3. Chapter 3 - Chief Chan of Vekten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tension in the air was thick as the Chief met and held Felix's glare, smirking slightly at his attitude.

Felix glared at the Chief, unmoving. The room was dead silent as the occupants shifted uncomfortably between the Chief who probably didnt want to be here and the Prince who didn't want a bodyguard.

The tension in the air was thick as the Chief met and held Felix's glare, smirking slightly at his attitude. 

Finally Minho stood up. "Chief Chan of Vekten, I am General Minho of the Parthenos army." He bowed, continuing, "we thank you for your assistance to our kingdom, if there is any advice you can give us on our war strategy, we would humbly accept."

Chan regarded him with a glint in his eye as he tapped his spear on the ground, flipped it upside down with a flick of his wrist and held it behind his back, returning Minho's bow. It was the Vekten's salute of a warrior.

"The Vektens will provide safety to your Prince," he said, eyeing Felix, amused at how annoyed and somewhat offended the boy looked. He shifted his attention to the Queen. "However we will not be getting involved in this war. The Tribe has remained impartial and without allies or enemies, and we intend to keep it that way." 

"Understood, Chief Chan-"

"Chan, please. The formalities aren't necessary."

"Very well." Euridicia continued, "we understand your feelings to stay out of this war, and we respect it." 

She turned to Felix, raising her eyebrows at him, indicating for him to at least TRY to be grateful. 

On his other side, Minho was glaring at him with the same message in his eyes. 

Felix sighed, standing up and making eye contact again with that severely cocky warrior who seemed to think no end of himself. 

"Thanks." He said, with absolutely no thanks in his voice. 

Han stifled his laugh and Minho couldn't help but smile despite how frustrating Felix was being about this whole situation.

The Queen raised her eyebrow at Felix before regaining her composure and continuing. "Right," she cleared her throat, "now that you are both....acquainted, I'll allow you to prepare for the lengthy journey ahead. In the meantime I'd like a private word with the Chief."

"Once you're ready, Felix, you may rejoin us briefly before you set off."

"Wait-" Felix spun around to face the Queen, "I'm leaving TODAY?"

Euridicia sighed, having put up with enough of all of this. "I'm not taking any chances with you Felix." Her tone indicated that she was not to be argued with any longer. 

Felix left in a huff, with Minho and Han following as the gathering dispersed for the Queen to speak with Chan. 

"Are you out of your mind?" Minho confronted Felix when they had left the chamber. 

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever wondered why nobody has ever dared mess with Krios or Vekten? The Kriotians are masters at battle and the Vektens are a tribe of pure warriors. It's a miracle that man is going to protect you and not wipe the floor with you instead!"

Han chuckled in the background, mimicking Felix's deep voice and the way he addressed the Chief: "Thanks".

Minho laughed, and Felix couldn't help but lighten up too, he then stopped and turned to look at the two of them.

He'd known Han briefly but not exceptionally well. "Since when did the two of you get so close?" He asked, pointing at them.

He couldve sworn Han's ears went red but Minho replied on their behalf, "I've been consulting with him on our war efforts and how the mages can help." 

Felix raised an eyebrow. "We didn't know about the war until today."

"The army Felix," Minho said, pushing Felix in the direction of his part of the castle, "the army, I'm soooo sorry for the mix up of the words, now go and get ready, you gotta get yourself out of here."

Felix turned to look at Minho, his closest friend, the one who'd taught him everything he knew about leadership and fighting. "I'll miss you buddy. I dont want to leave."

Minho smiled and then pulled Felix in for a hug. "Hey save the goodbyes for later. Everything will be alright." He pulled away. "Now we have soldiers and mages to prepare. Go get yourself ready to leave." 

~

Minho and Han watched Felix walk away before leaving the castle and into the courtyard. They had urgent matters to deal with but they moved slowly, both of them cherishing this little time they had with each other.

Han finally broke the silence. "Do you think...do you think Parthenos will survive this?"

Minho stopped, staring at the sky with his hands in his pockets, deep in thought before looking back at Han. 

"We have to, Han."

The Mage ran a hand through his hair anxiously. "There aren't as many mages as there are soldiers, and we've never fought in anything before-"

"Hey, hey," Minho stepped up to Han, holding him gently by the shoulders. "We're all going to be fine, and if you need a familiar face out there on the battlefield, you can find mine."

Han looked at him and smiled, and Minho couldn't help but smile back into his eyes. 

"We have a week before it all goes to hell right?" Han asked. 

Minho snorted, "Yeah I suppose you could say that."

"Promise me you'll be ok out there." Han's arms had snaked around Minho's waist as he pulled him closer. 

Minho chuckled. "I promise, Han. I better not seeing you trying to pull any hero stunts either."

"Not a chance."

"Good." 

Minho was about to pull Han in for a hug when he stopped, gazing into the man's eyes with the very slightest fear about the implications of the war creeping into his chest. 

As badly as Minho wanted to pour out his feelings all at once to Han, he stopped himself, and instead, he reached forward and planted a soft kiss on Han's forehead, wrapping his arms around him tightly. 

He let his lips linger there for a while before pulling away and sinking into the hug, his words muffled against Han's shoulder. 

"Because Parthenos isnt the only thing I'm fighting for."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of minsung fluff and chanlix's first meeting  
> Clearly they arent overly thrilled about the idea of each other 😂


	4. Chapter 4 - Virgo and Libra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Monarchs of Parthenos are blessed with a special power, like mine," she said, as Chan's eyes studied the magic weaving around her hand.
> 
> "Felix, on the other hand, has never shown any sign of possessing it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First look of Chan and Felix's relationship, will it take a turn for the better, or for worse?

Back in Queen Euridicia's chambers, she had welcomed the Chief to take a seat at the table. She could speak freely now that everyone had left. 

"I trust you understand the implications this has for both our nations," the Queen began. 

"You're referring to the prophecy, aren't you?" Chan replied. 

The Queen nodded. "We've been preparing for this since Felix's birth. This war is exactly as the prophecy foretold, and as much as it is impossible to change a prophecy, I would like to prevent an outbreak of an inter-nation war, to the best of my ability."

Chan smirked. "You're worried about us attacking? Is that why you want the Vektens to take care of your Prince?"

"Quite the contrary, actually. The Vektens have always remained impartial in these political affairs. It is my belief that your people would have no interest with our Prince."

"Fair enough."

"That brings me to my next point- the prophecy isn't entirely a foreshadowing of war, and the Prince being the future of our kingdom isnt entirely why I want him away from Parthenos."

"Oh?" Chan leaned forward, intrigued. 

"Prince Felix, although....testing, at times, is special, unlike the rest of the people of the kingdom, unlike any of the monarchs before him."

Euridicia opened her palm, where deep fuchsia wisps of energy, like plasma, swirled around her fingers. 

"Monarchs of Parthenos are blessed with a special power, like mine," she said, as Chan's eyes studied the magic weaving around her hand.

"Felix, on the other hand, has never shown any sign of possessing it."

"So you're afraid he's weak?" Chan asked, sitting back in his chair. 

"Quite the contrary, I believe he possesses something stronger than we've ever seen." She closed her palm and the energy evaporated like pink steam. "Which is why he must be kept safe, so that he has time to discover what is within him."

Chan cocked his head to the side, studying the Queen. "You've never had this conversation with Felix before, have you?" 

Euridicia set her jaw, calculating how to respond. Her silence was enough of an answer. 

"Right, got it." Chan said. He shifted forward, suddenly serious. "And what makes you think it's such a great idea to keep his own power hidden from him? From the next King of Parthenos?" 

The Queen narrowed her eyes. "Can you imagine how much of a hero complex that young man would have if he knew? He'd risk his life for this nation-"

"Like a warrior." Chan interrupted. 

"Like a FOOL." Euridicia finished through gritted teeth. "And you will see to it that he doesnt try to throw himself into harm's way. He cannot single handedly stop or win this war."

"So what do I do with him? Just take him back to Vekten and keep him there?"

"Yes." The Queen folded her arms and sat back in her seat. "Until I say otherwise."

"A tad over protective, don't you think?" Chan scoffed. 

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you challenging me?"

"No, your Highness," he replied, although his tone indicated otherwise. 

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other." They both stood up, and the Queen paused to ask a question. 

"Why did you not ask me for something in return for protecting the Prince?"

"Because I'm aware of the prophecy, Queen Euridicia, and that prophecy implicates all of us. You, me, and all three of the other kingdoms. 

If protecting your Prince is what it takes to protect my people, then so be it. 

And like I said before, Vekten is not fighting any war."

~

The time had come for Felix to leave. He had packed just the bare essentials, and of course his ceremonial sword, and walked to the courtyard to say his goodbyes to his parents, Minho, Han and the Queen. 

He then walked to Chan' air carriage waiting for him a few metres away from the castle. 

They barely exchanged pleasantries, Chan just informed him that it would be a bit of a long ride, and Felix didn't answer. He was still stinging from the fact that he was being sent away like a child, and worse, he was being chaperoned. That too by a member of a completely different tribe. 

They had set off late on their journey. Felix couldn't help but be a little impressed by the powers of this Vektenian. They had gotten into the carriage, and despite how war-like the Chief seemed, he moved gracefully in commanding the winds to push them into the sky. Once they were flying and he had controlled the winds to maintain a steady speed, he sat back down at the helm. 

The journey would take hours, and it began to get dark, and it was only then when the silence between the two of them was finally broken.

"Its not the best idea to travel at night. We'll stop until morning, get some rest and set off again once the sun rises."

Felix only grunted in response. He didn't know whom he wanted to direct his anger towards- the Queen, the Chief, or himself. 

They landed in a forest clearing. Chan got a small fire going for warmth and took out some food that had been packed for the journey. 

"You should eat." He said simply, laying down some food for him.

"I'm not hungry," Felix said almost stubbornly. 

"Alright, what exactly is your problem here?" By this point Chan had had enough of Felix's attitude. 

"The problem is that I dont need to be protected like I'm made of glass!" Felix shot back. 

"Right. Sure." Chan got up, and quicker than Felix could react, Chan reached for his spear and hammered the ground in front of Felix with the blunt end. 

Felix jumped back in shock, then unsheathed his own sword. 

Chan stood back with his spear coolly, knowing that, in his fury, Felix would attack first. 

He was right. Felix came charging at him, but Chan easily dodged his attacks, spinning the spear expertly between his hands, parrying Felix's attacks. 

Felix was knocked backwards a bit, and Chan used this as an opening to attack. Using the blunt end, he brought the spear down against Felix, who shielded himself with the sword. 

A few shots were deflected, yet a few also got in, hitting him hard against the arm. 

Chan was using the full breadth of the spear, holding it in both his hands as an expansive weapon. Felix would never have seen his next move coming - Chan hit down against his forearm, knocking his sword out of his hand, then dropped down and kicked his leg out from under him.

Felix fell back against the dirt as Chan loomed over him, now pointing the sharp side of the spear against his chest. 

"Don't need to be protected huh?" Chan said, before retracting the spear and standing back. He reached out his hand to help Felix back up. 

Felix sat up, breathing heavily, tired, both physically and emotionally. 

Chan fully expected Felix to swat his hand away, but to his pleasant surprise, he accepted, and Chan pulled him up with ease.

A little too much ease because Felix came flying forward, slamming into Chan's chest and almost stumbling. 

"Easy, easy," Chan said, almost gently, while steadying him. 

Felix looked down, refusing to make eye contact. "Thank you." He said softly, dusting himself off. 

Chan picked up Felix's sword from the ground and handed it back to him, setting his own spear aside. "Let's try that again."

"What?" Felix was confused. 

Chan just held the sword out, waiting for Felix to take it. He took it back, but his confidence was defeated, and he didn't feel like fighting. 

Chan studied him, studied his face, his expression, the look in his eyes. As a seasoned fighter, he could read everything about a person, from their movements to their emotion.

"Charge at me." 

Felix was still confused, Chan was defenceless, standing with his arms behind his back and his spear far away, but he felt like he had a point to prove, so he did. To his shock, Chan stopped his sword mid-charge; he just caught the blade itself in his hand. 

The Chief wore fingerless gloves anyway, so it wasnt like he had hurt himself, but Felix was still shocked that he had even considered catching the blade as an option. 

"That's your first mistake. Charging first." 

He yanked the sword out of Felix's hand, spun it around in his hand and pointed the blade back at Felix. 

"That's your second mistake, underestimating your opponent."

He stepped forward and swept his leg out from under him, the same move he had used last time. 

Felix stumbled, but this time, Chan was holding his arm so that he wouldnt completely lose him balance. 

"And that's your third mistake, letting your guard down."

He pulled Felix back up, tossing his sword to him. 

"That's the same thing Minho keeps telling me," he muttered under his breath.

"General Minho?" Chan asked. 

Felix nodded and sat down, accepting the food that Chan offered him this time. 

"Minho taught me how to fight, I train with him as often as I can but...for some reason, I keep making the same mistakes." 

"You wish you couldve stayed, don't you?"

Felix didn't even want to respond. He was already feeling choked up and overwhelmed by everything that was happening. 

"I'm supposed to be this prophetic king but....I know everything about that prophecy. Virgo was the last to appear after all the rest, and a shooting star like a flame cut right through it.  
The flame meant destruction. To the 5 kingdoms, to Parthenos, to me."

Felix absently touched his chest where the insignia was, the 5 spoked wheel and the flaming spear. "It wasn't a prophecy, it was an omen." 

"Why do you think the Queen sent you away?"

Felix was silent. He stared at his hands and what they were incapable of doing. Heart of hearts, he thought he knew why he was sent away. He wasn't strong enough, he never would be.

Chan judged his silence before speaking. "You can't make the pink thing, can you?" Felix looked up at him in confusion. 

Chan wiggled his fingers around. "The pink magic. What your Queen can do."

"Astral magic- how do you know about this?"

Chan shrugged. "She told me," he said, laying back in the ground and looking up at the stars. 

Felix felt a sinking feeling in his chest. "Is that why she wanted to talk to you alone? To tell you that I need to be protected?"

Chan couldn't ignore how small Felix's otherwise booming, deep voice had become, how vulnerable he sounded. His heart went out to the Prince, he knew that they all wanted him to be something that he was not. 

He sat up, looking Felix in the eye but trying to be as gentle as possible. "Yes."

Felix nodded to himself, pursing his lips. "I see." 

"You're wrong." Chan said, unexpectedly.

"What?" 

"You think you're weak, you're not." 

Felix was done trying to protect his ego, so instead of getting offended, he simply asked, "how do you know that?"

"The Queen believes you have a power much greater than she, or any of the monarchs have ever possessed. Nobody knows what it is yet."

Felix scoffed. "That sounds real promising."

"You do have power, Felix." 

"And how do you know that?"

Chan's eyes glinted in the light of the fire, the blue one almost changing colour into a deeper shade. They were drawn to the left side of Felix's chest. Although covered, he knew that was where the insignia was. 

"I just do. Now finish your food and get some rest. We leave at dawn tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it looks like they were able to put aside their differences - props to Chan for having the patience to deal with Felix acting so petulantly
> 
> Looks like at the least, a friendship is brewing. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading! Drop in any comments or thoughts you may have, eager to hear your theories as well about the lil things in the chapters!


	5. Chapter 5 - Vekten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan noticed the look on Felix's face and couldn't help but laugh. "Not what you were expecting I'm guessing?"
> 
> Felix shook his head in awe. "I thought-"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chanlix are starting to learn how to tolerate each other now, maybe there's hope for them after all :3

Felix would never have expected to actually get along with Chan. The night before itself, they'd dropped the royal titles with each other, and despite how Felix had felt about him at the beginning, he felt that Chan somehow actually understood him. 

He had been so angry at himself the Queen and the entire situation that he had lashed out. He mulled over Chan's words in his head about him having some sort of secret power. He desperately wanted to believe it was true, but there had never been any indication of it. 

A few hours passed before they reached Vekten. Felix had been expecting a clan of barbaric war lords, but instead he was greeted by a very civil town. The houses were built tastefully with wood and brick and the people were as normal as the people of Parthenos. 

He did notice several people with swords and weapons hanging at their hips, and a few battlescars on their faces and arms, but other than that, and a few boisterous local pubs, it was very pleasant. 

Chan noticed the look on Felix's face and couldn't help but laugh. "Not what you were expecting I'm guessing?"

Felix shook his head in awe. "I thought-"

"That every citizen was a war lord?" Chan laughed with a raised eyebrow. "We're seasoned fighters but we're not bloodthirsty."

He gestured around the town. "Alot of these people here have been liberated from lesser tribes and villages in the area.

The reason we're known as fighters is because, for generations, the Tribe of Vekten has fought to liberate people belonging to ACTUAL barbaric villages.

It was this liberation that lead to Vekten becoming what it is today. The art of fighting has therefore become almost sacred to us, as a means of freedom."

"I thought you didn't fight other people's wars." 

"We don't. We free people, Felix, we don't wage war on anyone. We've stayed impartial in the matters of the other 4 major kingdoms because there's too much politics with these allied nations and what not. While we are one of the 5 nations, we act completely independently." 

Felix followed Chan, watching how the citizens greeted him. The culture was different here; when people saw him, their mark of respect seemed to be putting a hand over their heart, which Chan returned.

For what seemed like fellow warriors, he did the same warrior salute that he gave Minho the day before when he had come to Parthenos. 

Felix had also expected a castle, but what he came to was a large, open air estate. The buildings were made of the same wooden structures that he had seen in the town, and the main building in the centre had a large open veranda as its entire ground floor. 

"This is where you will be staying, the Chief's Quarters."

Chan guided Felix to a large room built of log, with a large stone hearth against the wall. Vekten was significantly colder than Parthenos, and Felix was starting to understand why Chan and so many of the others wore thick fur. 

Felix settled in easily enough. Vekten was far more receptive than he had thought it would be. The first day went by uneventfully, with him exploring the estate and the town. 

Felix tried to spend the next few days as easily as he had the first, but his mind was uneasy. He kept remembering what Sage Ryune had said, that Krios would attack in a week.

It had been 4 days since Felix had left Parthenos when he simply couldnt rest anymore. 

It was in the middle of the night when Felix rolled out of bed, grabbed his sword and went out into the large expanse of open space right outside the villa. 

It was dark, with only a few dwindling fires and the light of the moon and the stars to illuminate his surroundings. There was also not a soul around, which was somewhat comforting in a way.

Just to set his mind at ease, to feel like he had some value as a Prince, he practised the stances and attacks that he had learnt over the years at Parthenos. 

He remembered what Chan had told him the first and last time they fought, about his balance, and he tried to work on that. 

"What are you doing?"

He suddenly heard coming from the villa and he spun around to see where it came from. His eyes had already adjusted and there was anyway sufficient light for Felix to see Chan leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed, watching him.

Felix didnt know what to say. Chan lazily walked towards him, kicking up a broken spear, one missing its blade, off the ground and into his hand. 

"Its usually better to fight against an opponent instead of against your imagination," Chan smirked, getting into a fighting stance.

"Chan, it's the middle of the night."

"Oh? And was I the one stabbing shadows in the courtyard?" He teased.

Felix chuckled under his breath and lunged at Chan, who deftly sidestepped the attack and grabbed Felix's wrist, spinning him around so that his body was flush against his and his back was to Chan, who held Felix's own hand and sword against his neck. 

He leaned in closer to whisper into Felix's ear.  
"What did I say about charging first?" 

Chan's voice was low and calm, and Felix felt a shiver run down his spine, completely distracted in the moment. It took Chan to spin him back around and attack him with the spear for Felix to snap out of it. 

"Never let your guard down," Chan said as he unleashed a flurry of attacks against Felix. 

The man was unbelievably fast, spinning the spear in his hands as if it was an extension of his own body. Felix parried as much as he could, trying his best to move as fast as Chan was. 

It was almost impossible to keep up, and something came over Felix, he decided to improvise. With the next oncoming attack, Felix threw his sword to the side and caught the spear in his hands, gripping tight to prevent further movement. 

Chan stopped, impressed. He stood back, as did Felix, and he dropped the spear to the side. 

"Very good, I didn't expect that." 

Felix nodded, out of breath. "Thank you." 

Chan cocked his head to the side, studying him. "What brought you out here at this time, anyway." 

Felix stared off into the distance, steadying his breathing and preparing his answer.

"I just....Krios attacks Parthenos in two days." 

Chan gestured to the empty space behind them with his thumb. "And you were, what, fighting invisible Kriotians out here?" 

Felix wanted to be annoyed but he laughed instead. "No, but....I just-"

"Wanted to feel like you were doing your part?"

Felix looked at him appreciatively, glad that he seemed to understand. 

"It still doesn't feel right. I dont know what to do."

Chan felt for him. He so desperately wanted to be the Prince they needed, but was so far away from knowing what kind of Prince he even was. 

"Tell you what," Chan said, "I'll help you practise everyday." 

Felix's face lit up with the first genuine smile Chan had ever seen on him. His smile was so bright that Chan couldnt help but smile back. "You seem to have already gotten better, so let's see how far you can go."

Felix nodded enthusiastically, then placed his hand over his heart the same way he had seen the citizens do here in Vekten. "Thank you."

Chan returned the gesture, and bowed to Felix; the same way he had seen them do back there in Parthenos. "It will be my honour, Prince Felix."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesssssss something is ✨brewing✨ between them!


	6. Chapter 6 - The War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the kudos and the reads :') I love writing so it really means so much to me to see yall enjoying the story 💖

True to his word, Chan practised with Felix over the next couple of days. He was a rigorous trainer, pulling Felix out into the courtyard twice a day to sharpen up his skills; in the morning after breakfast, and then again at sundown.

But on the day that Krios was supposed to attack Parthenos, Felix couldn't even get out of bed. He couldn't will himself to move, all he felt was a sense of deep dread, fear and loneliness in the pit of his stomach. There were words that were threatening to tumble out of his mouth but he kept them safe beneath his tongue and stayed in his room, staring at the ceiling. 

When Felix had missed breakfast, Chan had come by to check on him and call him to train, but Felix hadn't answered. He hoped Chan had just thought he was asleep and would leave him alone. 

On the contrary, Chan knew that Felix was mentally and emotionally conflicted. He had left Felix alone in the morning, but by sundown when Felix still hadn't shown up, Chan couldn't help but feel concerned for him. 

He went to his room again as the sun set, knocking softly on the door. "Felix?" He called out. 

Behind the door, Felix was sitting in bed, staring absently at the hearth. He had a feeling Chan would come again in the evening, so he had left the door unlocked, just in case he was thoughtful enough to check in on him. 

He wasnt hoping for it though, or......was he?

Felix looked expectantly at the door, still not saying anything. He couldn't....he didnt know what to say. 

On the other end, Chan sighed when he recieved no reply. He tried the handle of the door, and it was unlocked, so he slowly let himself in.

He saw the Prince sitting in his bed, without his crown or his usual royal garb; he was in the warm clothes Chan had given him for Vekten's cold nights and his usually tame golden hair was a mess.

He simply looked at Chan wordlessly, and he almost looked ashamed, embarrassed.

Chan's chest contorted uncomfortably seeing Felix like this. He knew exactly what was going through his mind, and while it was understandable, it was going to wreck Felix if he went through it alone. 

Chan gently shut the door behind him, walking up to Felix and sitting on the bed. He didnt say anything, he knew Felix would speak first. 

"Krios must have attacked by now." Felix's voice was small, vulnerable. He pursed his lips after he spoke and Chan knew he was holding back tears.

"Felix," he said quietly and gently, "I know how you must be feeling. It's not your fault, none of this is your fault."

Felix closed his eyes and the tears rolled down his cheeks. "But I should at least be there," he said, his voice cracking. The image of Minho flared up in his mind and it made the tears flow faster. "I dont even know if they're ok, Chan."

Chan clasped Felix's shoulder, "hey, hey, Felix, they're ok, your Queen, General Minho- they're strong, your kingdom is strong."

Felix punched the bed, "and what about me Chan?" Felix was sobbing now, his emotions getting the better of him. The self doubt, the shame of not being the prince his kingdom deserved, the feeling of being inadequate- it was all just too much. 

"Felix-"

But he had gotten out of bed, and was pacing up and down the room, his breath catching in his throat as he tried to steady himself. 

"I never asked for this." His voice was barely above a whisper. 

At this point Chan knew he was referring to the prophecy, the other major factor that kept playing on Felix's mind. 

He got up and grabbed Felix's hand to stop him pacing up and down the room, then pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around him. 

At first Felix was stunned to have Chan.....hold him. That was far, far from what he had expected from the Chief of Vekten. 

But the initial surprise disappeared as fast as it came, and was replaced by a feeling of comfort, and strangely, of safety. 

He slowly, cautiously, wrapped his arms around Chan too. 

"This war is not your fault Felix." Chan's voice echoed in his ear. 

At that, Felix tightened his arms around Chan, who to Felix's surprise, did the same. 

Chan held him until he calmed down, until he could feel the ease in Felix's body and could feel his breathing patterns return to normal. 

Felix pulled away slowly, gazing dolefully up at Chan as he did. 

Chan couldnt help but feel something tug at his chest the way Felix had looked at him. 

"Thank you." Felix said quietly, as his hands unwound from around Chan and rested on top of his forearms. 

Chan nodded, smiling reassuringly at him. He pondered for a moment, unaware that his eyes had involuntarily flickered to the spot on Felix's chest where he knew the insignia was. 

"What?" Felix asked, trying to catch Chan's attention. 

"Sit," Chan said, lowering himself to the floor, and Felix followed.

He reached out and touched the left side of Felix's chest, right next to his heart. "This is where that mark is, isn't it? A five spoked wheel?"

"How....how do YOU know that? Even the Queen doesnt know, just my parents. They decided to keep it a secret because there was already enough that had happened when I was born. So how do you know?"

"Do you know why one of my eyes is blue?"

Felix frowned, shaking his head. "Something to do with your scar? A battle?"

Chan shook his head. "My mother, the previous Chief of the Tribe, who still takes over in my absence, belongs to a line of people born with a gift, which I inherited. We can see energy, magic, that would be otherwise invisible to anybody else."

"O......kay?" Felix still didnt know where this was going. 

"So I can even see magic that lies dormant within a person, Felix."

Felix blinked, frowning, trying to understand what he was saying. "So you're saying there really is magic within me?"

Chan nodded. "And its centre is right there," he said, touching Felix's chest. "There is immense power within you, it's just," Chan frowned. "It's like it's locked."

"I can heal people, just like all the other people of Parthenos, could it be that?"

"No, that energy I can already see flowing through your body. This, on the other hand, is different altogether. Imagine them as colours, Felix. I see one colour, your healing abilities, freely flowing through your body. I see another colour locked right here, beneath your insignia."

That was all Felix needed to hear. His heart soared a little. "So that means-"

"That means that there is something special within you Felix. There is a reason that you're here, there is a reason why everything is happening as it is. Had you been caught up in the war, your life would've been in danger, your power would still lie dormant. Now, you are safe, you have time to figure out what exactly it is."

Felix nodded, a smile gracing his face. He gently touched Chan's hand, the one on his chest, and took it within his own. "I almost feel like I can't thank you enough, or apologise for how I behaved towards you at the beginning."

Chan smirked, slowly entwining his fingers with Felix's. "Yeah you were insufferable during our first meeting, I almost wanted to throw you off the air carriage." 

Felix laughed and swatted Chan with his free hand, who easily avoided it, catching his wrist and wrapping his fingers around his hand gently. It made him happy to see Felix smiling now.

Chan couldnt help but feel a tug at his heart whenever a situation had something to do with Felix. Initially, he really had thought Felix was a sullen, privileged prince, but he grew to understand that Felix was actually deeply insecure, scared, and desperate to protect his kingdom while trying to understand his prophecy. 

Felix was already more of a king than he realised, because he was already willing to put his kingdom before himself.

Similarly, as Felix held Chan's gaze, he couldnt help but feel a deep warmth whenever he was with him, a sense of security. At the beginning, Felix wouldn't have trusted Chan as far as he could throw him- he had thought the Chief was a cocky mercenary with an incredibly annoying attitude.

But he had been proven deeply wrong. Chan had a huge heart, and he was far gentler and far more understanding than Felix would have ever thought. He loved his people fiercely, as a true leader would, and besides just being a bodyguard, Chan did care for Felix. 

Although comfortable, Chan finally broke the silence. "You haven't eaten all day," he said, running his thumbs over Felix's hands, who felt a shiver run through his body at the unexpected touch. "There's plenty of food for dinner, come." 

Without waiting for an answer, Chan pulled Felix up to his feet. Felix was still not used to how strong Chan was and tried not to stumble right into his chest again. He hid his face, which was already red from all the affection Chan had shown him before, and struggled to stay on his feet, hoping Chan didnt notice.

But Chan did notice, he noticed how red Felix was as well. He smirked to himself, gripping Felix's arm to steady him. He couldnt help but think that he wouldnt mind if Felix fell against his chest again, though. 

Each lost in their thoughts about each other, they walked out into the courtyard and towards the main mess hall. 

They were stopped halfway by a frantic senior member of Vekten's intelligence council. 

The advisor saluted Chan and Felix hurriedly. "Chief, your Highness," she said, looking between the two. "There's been news."

Felix's heart sank, and he exchanged a worried look with Chan as the advisor continued. 

"Krios's army has been sabotaged."

"What?" As far as Felix was concerned, that was great news, as it meant Parthenos was safe, but before he could feel too good about it, a gut feeling told him that there was more danger on the horizon.

"By whom, Ceia?" Chan asked.

Ceia, the advisor, looked between the two of them. "We're out in the open," she had lowered her voice, "this is best discussed in private." 

The two rulers shared a look, both knowing that this war was nowhere close to being as straightforward as they thought it was.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Army of the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This army is dividing and conquering each of the 5 kingdoms. We stand alone."

After a quick dinner, the two rulers and Ceia retreated to Chan's private meeting room to discuss the news. 

Chan noticed how worried Felix looked. He had only just recovered from a day full of self doubt and fear, and now they were met with another hurdle to deal with. 

Felix trudged slowly behind Chan, and before they got to the meeting room, Chan turned around, catching Felix by surprise as he took his hands in his. 

"Hey," Chan said gently, looking into his eyes. "Are you ok?"

Felix nodded weakly, but with little expression on his face.

"Lix," Chan said endearingly, gently squeezing his hands. "Remember that you've got me, yeah?"

Felix's heart fluttered as he looked up into Chan's concerned eyes, hearing him call him a nickname that he hadn't used before. That familiar sense of safety that Felix felt with Chan came back, and he felt strong enough to deal with whatever was coming. 

He took in a deep breath and smiled nodding. "Alright. Let's see what's happened with the army now."

Chan smiled, relieved that Felix felt better, and the two of them made it to the meeting room. 

Once settled in, Chan began. "Tell us what you've learnt, Ceia."

She nodded. "With the war already including 3 kingdoms, we needed to ensure that ours was safe. Members of the Intelligence Council were sent off on a sort of reconnaissance mission, to observe and report the progression of the war."

Felix remembered that the Vekten travelled on the winds, so they were able to observe without being attacked or even seen, if they were high up enough. 

"We saw that Krios's army was barely halfway to Parthenos when it had been attacked by another. The army did not belong to Parthenos, as it was too far away from the kingdom. It obviously wasn't ours, and it couldn't belong to Tavros because their kingdom had already been seized. Besides, Tavros and Parthenos are allies."

Chan frowned. "Verseau?"

Ceia shook her head. "The United Tribes are Parthenos' ally, who are currently providing asylum to all Parthenos' people." She nodded towards Felix, "correct?"

"Yes, besides the United Tribes have no reason to attack. The whole reason why we are allies with them is because Lord Jeongin is a pacifist who prefers to stay away from war." 

Ceia sighed, "So that brings me to my next point." She looked between them. "Our Intelligence saw the army. Chief, they weren't human."

Chan's blood ran cold. He let what Ceia said sink in before replying. "What?"

"They were....like shadows Chief. Masses of pure dark energy. They were overwhelming in their numbers which caused Krios to retreat to their kingdom." She paused. "The remainder of their army anyway."

"Wait," Felix remembered what Han had said at the war meeting the week before. "Dark energy? That's the same army that attacked Tavros, our mages had divined it."

"Then we're dealing with something much more serious than just an inter-nation war." Ceia replied. 

"Ceia, have all our reconnaissance agents made it back safely?"

"Yes, Chief."

Chan nodded to himself, deep in thought. "Do you have any idea who this army might be?"

Ceia shook her head. 

Chan pondered over it for a moment, then turned to Ceia. "The Dome needs to be raised over Vekten. We also need to prepare our warriors in case a battle does come our way. Could you send word for Warrior Changbin immediately please?"

Ceia nodded, exiting the room.

Chan stared at the wall, his brow furrowed as he sat there deep in thought. Felix was silent as well, trying to piece together anything he knew which might help them to know what they were up against. 

"What are you going to do?" Felix finally asked. 

"Defences up first," Chan replied without missing a beat. "We have a giant dome that spreads over the entirety of Vekten. It's impenetrable, so hopefully, we'll be safe. Just in case, I want all our warriors to be ready for anything."

Ceia re-entered the room with Changbin, Chan's right hand man when it came to battle and war strategies, and the Tribe's de facto Warrior General. 

The warrior nodded at Chan and briefly saluted Felix before taking a seat opposite them along with Ceia. 

"Ceia briefed me," Changbin began, "what's your strategy Chan?"

"I'll need all our warriors prepared and ready for an attack. We will be taking on a defensive approach before an offensive one, I'm getting the Dome raised over the city. This army took out Krios, Changbin, I'd be lying if I said that wasn't concerning to me."

"That's what worried me too. Do you want to consider allying with the other nations, Chan? If there's a good time for alliance, it's now." 

Chan shook his head. "There's a pattern, Changbin. This army is attacking strategically. First it attacked Tavros out of the blue in Parthenos' name, instigating war between Parthenos and Krios, who was attacking on behalf of their ally. 

En route to Parthenos, Krios was then attacked, when they least expected it. Whatever this army is, it is attacking each kingdom one by one. Whatever alliances there are have proved useless. Look at Krios and Tavros, they're both defeated, their alliance didn't help them. 

This army is dividing and conquering each of the 5 kingdoms. We stand alone."


	8. Chapter 8 - Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the tension builds! The start of something more than a friendship? 👀

Felix and Chan walked back to the quarters together after the war meeting. The Dome, a steel structure that was quite self explanatory, had been raised, blocking out most of the horizon and the sky, save for an opening at the very peak.

Felix assumed that was to let sunlight in, and to also enable an airborne escape if they were to be attacked. 

Chan had instructed the Intelligence Council to conduct reconnaissance missions everyday around the surrounding areas to make sure that they were not currently under the threat of attack.

The War General Changbin was to rally and prepare all the warriors, which luckily for Vekten, was a significantly large number.

"Looks like we're going to have to train you harder, Prince Felix of Parthenos," Chan smirked, surprisingly light hearted. 

Felix was grateful for that. There had been a major turn of events that night and they were all equally intense. It was nice to live in the present moment for a bit, to let go of a little stress.

"Have I gotten better lately?" Felix asked.

"You have, actually. Your reflexes have improved greatly, we just have to work with your balance a bit more." 

Felix nodded, determined now more than ever to work even harder. After Chan had confirmed that he did in fact have some sort of power, he had a renewed sense of confidence in himself. If only he knew what the power was, and how to unleash it. 

The reconnaissance had indicated that so far, Vekten was safe, so there was no immediate need for panic. In the meantime, Felix had been training day and night. From whatever Chan knew about magic, he also tried to help Felix to unlock his power, but there was still no luck in that department.

Over the next weeks, they did train harder. Felix was able to block Chan's attacks much more effectively, but he still struggled in countering.

He dug his heels in the ground as Chan sent him flying backwards with an attack. "You can do better," Felix smirked. 

"Oh can I now?" Chan teased, holding his position and cockily beckoning Felix to charge.

But Felix had learnt his lesson. He stayed in his position, waiting for Chan to attack.  
Chan smiled to himself. 

Very good, he thought. The boy was learning.

He did charge at Felix, who fended off his attacks with his sword, dodging and twisting out of the way of Chan's spear. At every opening, he tried to make a jab at Chan, but he was either too slow or Chan was just way too fast. 

He also stumbled backwards alot when he was charged with attacks. Before he knew it, his back was to the main villa, he was cornered, struggling to hold the body of the spear away from his throat with the blade of his sword. 

Chan's next move was unexpected, he withdrew his spear, then jabbed it upwards, vertically in between Felix's arms. He then flicked it horizontally so that Felix's arms were twisted around them, causing him to drop his sword. 

"Ah!" Felix yelled out, before Chan withdrew again, picking up Felix's sword and throwing it far away. 

"Now let's see how you do," he said, before bringing the blunt end of the spear down on Felix. 

Felix crouched, ducked and rolled out of the way, now with only his bare hands to defend him. He bobbed and weaved between Chan's attacks, finding that he could move alot faster without the sword. He moved behind Chan, spinning and kicking him in his back, then dropping and kicking Chan's feet out from under him.

Chan fell, but used the momentum to roll and land back into a crouching position. "Well look who's using all my tricks now." 

Felix knew Chan was going to charge him again, so he looked around for a weapon. There was a broken spear lying on the ground, so he picked it up, holding it the way he'd seen Chan do so, waiting for his attack. 

As he did, Felix spun the spear around, finding it much easier to move and block Chan's attacks with such a broad weapon. He felt like the spear acted as an extension of himself rather than a weapon, and he didn't stumble quite as much; it was balanced in his hands. 

He knocked back at Chan, hitting down on the centre of his spear, then flipping the opposite end inwards to hit Chan right in the stomach.  
Chan stumbled backwards, both men breathing heavily now. Chan regarded Felix with a look of wonder, as if he'd suddenly realised something. 

"So that's why your balance has been so off." 

"What?" Felix asked.

"You've been using the wrong weapon all along!" Chan grinned. "Look how naturally it comes to you when you use the spear instead of your sword."

Chan was right. Felix regarded the spear he was holding, which was almost as tall as him but much more effective than the sword. 

Chan lay his spear down, sitting on the wooden steps to the villa as the colours of the sunset darkened in to night. He took a pouch of water he had lying around and beckoned Felix to join him, passing him the pouch after he drank. 

The two sit there in comfortable silence, catching their breath. Chan took his jacket off, revealing a sleeveless red and black leather vest beneath. He tossed it to the side, leaning back on his palms and staring up at what little of the night sky they could see. 

Felix didn't even realise he was staring at the man; his toned, battle-worn arms, the sharpness of his jawline, the curve of his lips- was this the first time Felix was noticing how attractive he was? Surely not? Wait why was Felix looking at him like this again? 

Chan turned to face him, frowning yet smirking slightly at the same time. "Yes?" He ventured.

Felix blinked, caught off guard. "Hm?"

"You were staring....? Is it my scar?"

Felix looked at him blankly. What scar? he thought.

"Oh yes, the scar over your eye! Yeah how did that happen?" Felix could feel himself going red and he prayed it was too dark for Chan to see.

Luckily, it was. "The last village we went to was barbaric," he told Felix. "It was a small, lawless clan dictated by an absolute tyrant. While the rest of his lackeys were being held down by my warriors, I faced him. He fought with a battle-axe and a sword, and let's just say I was lucky that he attacked with the sword and not the axe." 

He turned to see Felix's eyes wide with shock and laughed. He patted Felix's hand, "Don't worry clearly the damage wasn't that bad. I am a good fighter after all."

Felix snorted, "Oh here we go with the cockiness again," he said playfully, laying back on the wood with his arms folded behind his head. 

Chan smirked and leaned over him, and Felix's heart seemed to flip. "Am I now?" He teased, his voice low enough to set Felix's heart racing. He tried desperately to ignore how good Chan looked from this angle and sat up quickly in a panic, knocking his head into Chan's. 

"Ow," Chan laughed, massaging his head as he saw Felix cradling his own, his body racked with laughter. "What did you do that for?"

"I'm sorry," Felix managed between laughs and whimpers. He felt Chan's warm hands on his face as the man tilted his head up to look at him. "You ok?" He asked Felix. 

Chan's own heart turned to mush as he held Felix's face, looking into his bright eyes. The Prince had a face like the sun and twinkling eyes and a smile that he wished he saw more often. 

He let his hands drop and stood up, grabbing his jacket and his fur coat and draping them around his shoulders. "Come with me," he told Felix.

"Where are we going?" He frowned.

"Just come."

Chan had run to a nearby air carriage and hopped right in, and Felix followed. "Where are we going? I thought you said it wasn't a great idea to fly at night?"

"That was before I was comfortable with you," Chan said over his shoulder, "besides, there's something I want to show you." 

The carriage rose into the air as Chan formed a mini tornado of wind beneath them. When the currents were steady, he stopped, and they easily rose through the opening in the Dome above them. 

Once outside, Chan commanded the winds to get stronger, and Felix could see the clouds being swept out of shape as the winds grew more powerful and they rose higher into the sky. 

They rose higher, and faster, until Felix was sure they were tens of thousands of feet up in the air. The carriage hovered in one place as Chan joined Felix in the back of the carriage. 

"Stand up." He told Felix. 

As he stood, he looked out around them, and all around him, he could see the stars blinking in the sky and the moon casting a silvery glow over everything. It was a bit cold at this altitude, so Felix absent mindedly rubbed his arms for warmth.

The next thing he felt was Chan placing the fur around his shoulders from behind him, wrapping it around him. 

Felix's breath caught in his throat as he felt how close Chan was now, he was right behind Felix, with his arms around his chest, adjusting the fur coat. 

Felix could feel the warmth of Chan's body, and secretly wished Chan would just hold him to keep him warm instead. 

He turned around to face Chan, who looked almost ethereal in the glow of the moon. 

"Its beautiful up here, isn't it?" Chan commented, looking up at the moon. "I've always had a thing for stars." 

"You would have loved the day I was born then," Felix joked. 

Chan chuckled, "I saw the skies that day, the whole world did, after all we all see the same sky. I was a kid when it happened but I still remember how magnificent the sky was that night."

He breathed deeply, turning his attention to Felix, staring intensely into his eyes. "And here I am with the Prince for whom the whole sky shifted." 

Felix smiled and looked down. "When you put it like that, you make the prophecy sound like something good." 

"With you? It has to be." 

Felix looked up at the man who smiled at him warmly, leaning against the edge of the carriage. Suddenly his expression changed, and he frowned as his eyes caught something in the distance beyond Felix. 

Felix followed his eyes, but didnt see anything. 

"Chan?"

He didn't answer, instead, he commanded the winds once again, lifting them even higher. "Hold on," he told Felix over his shoulder, before propelling them forward at a furious pace.

Felix held on to the sides of the carriage, hoping Chan would stop soon and explain what was going on.  
They moved so fast and so far that they must've been miles from Vekten when they finally stopped. Felix stood up to see Chan looking over the sides of the carriage in deep concern.

When Felix looked over, he could see pulsating, writhing black energy pulsating all over the land. 

"What the hell is that?" Felix asked in horror. 

Chan looked at him. "You remember what Ceia said, and what your mage said, about dark energy?" Felix nodded.  
"We're looking at it," Chan continued, "and it's worse than how it looks Felix. I can see the magic within it, and it is ancient, and unbelievably powerful. I haven't seen anything like this before. It's like....oh no...."

"What?" Felix squinted to try and see what Chan was seeing but he couldnt see anything apart from the black mist. "What is it?"

Chan was horrified by what he saw through the magic. Even when they were just above Vekten earlier, he could sense and see the essences of the dark energy beneath the very earth itself. He needed to take a closer look so they came right to the source. 

Beneath the magic, he could see the ruins of what he knew was half of Krios' army. Wrecked carriages and chariots and war machines.

He saw, with his own eyes, the destruction that this mysterious dark army had done to Krios, and what the fate might be for the rest of the kingdoms.


	9. Chapter 9 - Tavros Pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Felix," Chan leaned forward, "there is no way in hell I'm letting you do something like this alone. If you want to do this, we're doing it together." 
> 
> "You don't have to keep protecting me Chan."

Chan and Felix made it back to Vekten as fast as they could. Once they reached, Chan called an emergency meeting with the Intelligence Council, General Changbin and his high ranking warriors. Chan insisted Felix be a part of it as well, and contributed what he could about what they'd seen and what their theories were.

After the meeting, Felix followed Chan to his room, there was something he wanted to discuss with him. 

He let Felix in, who sat on his bed deep in thought, as Chan sat opposite him, waiting for him to start. 

"I didn't want to voice this at the meeting, because I didnt know if you'd agree, and it's not fair to expect help from your people.  
Chan, I think the answer to this is figuring out exactly what our enemy is, because no one knows. Staying in the comfort of our kingdoms isnt going to tell us anything. If we want to know, we need to go to the source."

Chan nodded. "Go on," he prompted.

"I need to get to Tavros, Chan. The first kingdom to have been overrun. We know this dark army is still occupying the land. If I can get there and get any information, we might at least know what we're up against, and what weaknesses they have. After all, we know this army isn't human."

"So you want to do this alone?" Chan raised his eyebrow.

"I can't ask for more. All I can ask for is passage to Tavros."

"Felix," Chan leaned forward, "there is no way in hell I'm letting you do something like this alone. If you want to do this, we're doing it together." 

"You don't have to keep protecting me Chan."

"This isn't about that. Do you still see me as just a bodyguard?"

Felix's heart flipped over in his chest. "Far from it." He said, and he meant it. 

"Then why would you think I'd let you jump into something like this on your own? I have your back, Felix. Whatever you want to do, you don't have to do alone."

Felix smiled, softly touching the tips of Chan's fingers. "Thank you."

Chan looked down at their hands, slowly interlocking his fingers with Felix's. "We leave tomorrow, then. General Changbin and a few high ranking warriors will join us. Give me a moment I need to tell them before they go to sleep."

Felix hadn't realised that it was the middle of the night. He nodded as Chan got up to go and deliver the plans, and sat alone in his room. He was alot calmer about the whole thing now that he knew he had Vekten's warriors coming along, but even more so knowing that Chan would be there. 

He lay back on Chan's bed, sighing deeply. With the prospect of Tavros not so intimidating anymore, Felix's mind skipped to the moment he and Chan spent up in the sky, looking down at the town. The whole thing was so....romantic? Was it? Or was he overthinking?

Felix laughed to himself.

Gosh I'm falling for the Chief of Vekten, he thought.

He didnt recall any previous monarchs of two separate kingdoms ever being involved with each other. 

Felix wondered if Chan felt the same way. He sort of felt like he did, because he wouldnt have been so affectionate with Felix if not, he wouldnt have taken him up on a little sky date if not, right? 

Deep in thought about his feelings, Felix slowly drifted off to sleep. When Chan came back, he saw Felix fast asleep on his bed and couldnt help but smile.

There's an entire war on the horizon and I'm deep in my feelings over a Prince, wow Chan your priorities, he thought to himself. 

He looked almost angelic, with his golden hair like a halo around his head. The Prince had a smattering of freckles across his face, almost like the constellations he was born under. 

He sat on the edge of the bed, finding it difficult to imagine that he had ended up falling for the Prince he had been supposed to protect. He wondered how unbiased his decisions were now, because he seemed to be doing it all for Felix. 

He reached out and slowly brushed a bit of hair out of Felix's face, taking the fur coat off his own back and placing it over Felix so that he wouldn't feel cold through the night.  
The Tribe had spent generations with no allies, it was a nation that stood alone. Maybe, Chan thought to himself, as he lightly ran his fingers through the sleeping Prince's hair, it was time for that to change.


	10. Chapter 10 - A Kingdom Under Siege

The next day, Chan, Felix, General Changbin and a handful of Vekten's best warriors set out for Tavros. The mission was a dangerous one, but it was vital that the nations knew their enemy.

Even though they traveled on the winds, Tavros was still hours away, and they would probably only reach by dusk. Felix stood at the helm of the air carriage that he and Chan shared, strangely confident about this despite the imminent danger they were bound to face. 

The party had all seen the same dark energy swirling about the land below that Chan and Felix had seen the previous night. In the daytime, it looked even more sinister, like a blanket of living shadows covering the land. 

Suddenly Chan stood up, tapping Felix's arm. "Look," he said, "the trees, the grass, look at what has happened." 

Neither one had noticed in the darkness the night before, but everything the energy touched was dead. The trees were withered, whatever grass they could see had either lost its colour or had disappeared entirely, leaving only dry and barren earth under it. 

Felix's heart caught in his throat. He could only imagine what might happen if this army got to Parthenos if this is what its magic had already done to the land. 

When they first neared Tavros, they thought that they'd gotten alot later than they first calculated. Changbin frowned, checking their timekeepers. "That can't be right, it's barely dusk yet." But the sky was almost black with cloud cover, the sun completely blocked out. 

Then they realised that the clouds were moving, writhing. Black bolts of energy suddenly started swarming down from the clouds, straight at their air carriages. 

Chan swore under his breath. "Into the kingdom, FAST!" He yelled. He jumped to the helm of the carriage, commanding the wind into a burst of energy that launched them forward. 

He let the wind take care of their transport while he turned around, creating powerful blasts of air at the swarm of seemingly living shadows. They looked horrendous, they had beady, glinting white eyes and long fangs coming out of their mouths, and they screeched like banshees. 

Chan looked over at the other 3 carriages, who seemed to be struggling a bit. Chan moved his arms around faster, creating an air pocket of wind around him and the other warriors. All the black banshees that tried to attack them were torn apart by the wind shield that surrounded them, that must've been moving at a severe speed. 

They landed somewhat safely in the main kingdom, and the main square was empty, without a person in sight. In the darkness, the warriors barely saw the shadowy soldiers in the alleyways.

Chan, however, did. His gift helped him to see all the energy around them. 

"Stay close together!" He yelled, whipping out spear and his sword as well, as they all formed a circle, facing outwards with their weapons drawn. Chan walked a little in front, spinning his spear above his head so fast that it caught the wind at a tremendous pace. 

He then sliced the air, and a ring of torrential wind formed around the group like a protective shield. 

The soldiers in the dark then attacked. They were unlike the previous creatures, these ones were more solid, but they definitely weren't human.

They had the same features, but they were a bit more humanoid, with eyes that bore some sentience and sans the gnashing teeth. They were like solidified shadows, with deep gray skin and black armour, with motifs that nobody recognized.

It was an insignia of what looked like the letter H, except the vertical lines were convex instead of straight. Through the middle was another straight line intersecting it, with a single circle at its base. 

Felix noticed it and frowned, he swore he'd seen that somewhere before. 

The currents of the wind barrier around them acted as both offence and defence, sending attacking soldiers flying. Where some soldiers managed to break through, the warriors attacked with both wind and weapon to fend them off. 

A surge of soldiers suddenly appeared out of nowhere, charging right at them. Vekten was outnumbered at least 3 to 1. 

General Changbin saw this and groaned under his breath, then launched himself straight out of the protective ring of wind and in line of the oncoming attack. 

Felix shouted, thinking that the general was crazy, but Chan held him back, smirking slightly, holding his place. "Watch." He said.

The army got close, and Changbin was already commanding the winds around him at a terrific speed, to the point of where it felt like they were all in the middle of a growing tornado. 

Changbin stayed poised until the army was just a few feet away, then raised his spear in the air, and sliced down into the ground in front of him. 

Wind at the speed of several tornadoes cut down right in front of him, cracking the earth and ripping apart the army's formation, smashing the shadow soldiers into buildings several metres away. 

Felix was shocked, but impressed at the power the general possessed. "Well it looks like the General has a hold on things here, we need to find the king."

Chan nodded, running up to Changbin along with Felix. 

"We're going to find the king. Fight off whatever soldiers you can and get to safety if the numbers are overwhelming." 

Changbin smirked, "Get to safety? And out of a battle? Chan it's been a long time since we've fought, let us have some fun!" 

Chan laughed and shook his head, then gave Changbin the warrior's salute, who returned it, before he and Felix set off to find the king.

Chan had created a funnel of wind beneath both himself and Felix, so they could spot both the castle and any potential threats from the sky. The fact that Chan could see and sense the energy before the enemy could attack was a major advantage. 

The shadowy spirits attacked again in the skies, which Chan fended off with wind. They were nearing the castle when Chan stopped, squinting down at the ground. 

"What is it?" Felix asked. 

"Energy," Chan replied, still squinting, "like it's underground." 

"Like, dark energy or?" 

Chan shook his head. "No it's Astral magic, what each of the kingdoms are blessed with. Like how you all are able to heal and we can control the winds. It's very faint, though."

They slowly landed on the spot that Chan had seen, and so far they were safe, no soldiers had attacked them. 

Chan could see the trail of light blue energy well beneath the surface of the cobblestones they were standing on, and looked around to see if he could find an entrance. He then spotted one, one that looked like an entrance to a sewage system in the ground. 

"There," he said, as he and Felix pried it open and peered into what lay below. 

It wasn't a sewage system at all, but rather a complex system of tunnels with a ladder leading down to it. The two of them carefully climbed down and into maze of tunnels. 

It wouldve been easy to get lost if not for the fact that they were following the trail of magic that Chan could see, like following a scent. 

Finally, they made it through to a main opening, what looked like the skeleton of an underground city, and it was indeed thriving with what seemed like the entire population of Tavros. 

The men's entrance did not go unnoticed, as their clothing made it quite obvious that they were foreigners. There was slight movement from within the crowd, and a man appeared before them. He wore a solid, plain band of silver around his forehead, yet carried no visible weapons. 

He regarded the visitors, taking in their regalia. He noticed the golden wreath around Felix's forehead and the sword he carried. "Parthenos," the man said, then turned to Chan, immediately noticing his blue eye. "And Vekten," he concluded. "Well this is a surprise."

Felix figured that this must be the king, and dropped down to one knee to show that they meant no form of aggression. Chan followed suit.

"We come as allies," Felix said, rising. 

"And for that, I am truly grateful," the king said, clasping Felix's and Chan's hands in his own. "I am King Seungmin, King of Tavros." 

Turning back to Felix, he said, "I am deeply, deeply sorry that Krios declared war on your nation. When this army attacked in your name, they knew no better, and we were totally unprepared. We knew from the dark magic that this was not an attack from a peace loving nation such as Parthenos."

He sighed, "sadly there was no way for us to communicate that message to anyone. We have been in hiding for weeks, constructing battle machines in a war for our own kingdom."

Felix and Chan looked ahead, and sure enough, there were major steel contraptions and weapons being made as they spoke. 

"Do you have any idea who this army is, King Seungmin?" Felix asked. 

The king nodded gravely. "They are an ancient power, Prince. A thousand years ago, there were no major nations as they are today, there were several smaller kingdoms that coalesced into what we have today, much like the Tribe of Vekten." He nodded at Chan. 

"But there was a growing power, an evil power, and that was of the Land of Erebus. They were born of darkness itself, an anomaly that began to plague the earth, spreading darkness into its veins."

Felix remembered how they had seen the effect of the dark energy on the flora; how the trees and vegetation had died. 

"Not only was Erebus poisoning the earth, but the inhuman beings of their land were invading kingdoms and villages, wreaking havoc and chaos, much like what is happening today."

The King sighed sadly, looking back at his people with a wistfulness in his eyes. "I wish I could've protected them better as a king," he said, "but we were completely unprepared. The throne was.....literally snatched from me."

Felix frowned, "What do you mean?"

"They have an Overlord, a being named Makhai. Pure, dark magic, unbelievably powerful." The King gulped. "He currently occupies the throne of Tavros."

Felix suddenly remembered where he had seen that insignia - there were ancient scrolls that taught Parthenos of the history of the kingdom, the first major Battle against the Dark Army. 

"But they've been defeated before, haven't they?" Felix started, "The founders of our kingdoms, they banded together, didn't they, to destroy Erebus?"

"Yes," King Seungmin nodded. "The founders had great Astral power, far greater than what we have today. Their combined power was so strong that they imprisoned the Dark Army below the earth, using magic to completely seal them away. It seems, however, that that magic has now weakened, as Erebus is back."

"That's why nobody knew what this army was," Chan observed, "who is going to think a thousand year old army has been resurrected? How did that even happen in the first place?"

King Seungmin pursed his lips reluctantly, looking at Felix. "The seal....was only effective on a particularly auspicious day. A day where each founder of each kingdom had their Astral magic at their full potential." 

The King took a deep breath before continuing. "A day when all 5 constellations were perfectly aligned."

Time seemed to have slowed down for Felix. It all came crashing down on him before the King had even said it, he knew how the seal had been undone. 

The King saw Felix's face change, knowing the Prince had figured it out. Chan looked over at him, not fully understanding as yet, but worried for Felix. 

"The only way that the seal could ever be undone," the King continued slowly.

"Was if the stars aligned the same way again." Felix finished, his voice barely above a whisper. 

The King paused sympathetically. "The day you were born, Prince Felix."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyyye Seungmin finally makes an appearance and he's a smart lad. Things just seem to be getting worse for Felix tho smh
> 
> This was a combination of two chapters since the last one was pretty short :3 
> 
> Gonna plug my latest story here: I've written a Mafia themed AU which is gonna border more on 18+ themes, and its alot darker than this story.
> 
> If that's your thing, check it out! I've already posted two chapters :3


	11. Chapter 11 - Erebus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Look at what this kingdom has gone through, what these people have gone through. You said this prophecy meant something good Chan, but I don't know about that anymore.
> 
> This war starts and ends with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So looks like Felix doesn't know everything about his prophecy after all 👀

All the strength in Felix's body was replaced by fear and despair. He felt as if ice had spread through his veins and into his heart; he couldn't believe what the King was saying. 

Yet he knew it was true, he knew the King wasn't lying, somehow, it made sense to him.

And suddenly, that sense of despair was overcome by an overwhelming wave of anger. Felix tightened his grip on his sword, and without another word, stormed off in the direction of the tunnels. 

Chan and Seungmin exchanged worried looks, and Chan bowed hurriedly to the King before rushing off to figure out what Felix was upto. 

He caught him at the entrance of the tunnels and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Felix, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to the castle." Felix said firmly, trying to shake Chan off and continue up the tunnel.

"Boy you really do have a hero complex," Chan muttered under his breath, pulling Felix back. "Felix, you're going to get lost going through those tunnels. Can we get out into the open and then have this discussion?"

Felix was silent, but begrudgingly agreed. They traveled to the surface in silence, and once they were out in the open and away from immediate threats, Felix addressed Chan, "This is on me, Chan. I don't care what the Queen says or what anybody says, there's no time to figure out what my power is or what strategy we're going to use."

He gestured around at the dark, empty city. "Look at what this kingdom has gone through, what these people have gone through. You said this prophecy meant something good Chan, but I don't know about that anymore."

His voice got quiet. "This war starts and ends with me."

"Felix-"

"No, Chan. There's no logic to any of this anymore, don't try to talk me out of it. Erebus was released on the day of my birth, so ending this is what I was born to do. This IS the prophecy, right here, right now."

Chan looked at him in despair. He didn't fully believe that this was the end but at the same time, he couldn't deny that there was a small chance Felix might be right. 

The fact that the Queen sent him away, Felix being able to train more with Chan, coming to Tavros, finding out about Erebus and the fact that the Overlord was here, maybe Felix was right. 

Chan took a deep breath. "Fine. But you're not doing it alone. I don't care what you have to say, I'm coming with you."

Felix smiled very slightly, then reached forward and hugged Chan, who hugged back tighter. They pulled away, and Chan handed his spear to Felix. 

"This is yours now."

"What?"

Chan shrugged and smiled. "You fight better with a spear anyway, what better time for me to give this to you than now?"

As Felix took it from him, Chan drew two huge swords from sheaths at his hips, and the two started towards the castle. 

There was a drawbridge leading up to it, and dozens upon dozens of shadow soldiers guarded it. 

Chan and Felix charged towards them, attacking wildly and with deadly precision. The two of them were perfectly in sync with each other when they fought. 

Waves of soldiers appeared almost as fast as the first round had been disposed of. Chan noticed the moat under the drawbridge, still full of water. 

"Felix get back," he said, pushing him backwards and launching himself into the air, creating strong currents of wind that pushed massive waves of water over each side of the drawbridge. 

Chan increased the speeds of the winds until the waves were big enough and strong enough to cover the entire drawbridge. The waves crashed down, getting rid of the entire group of soldiers who were defending the castle. 

The two of them then ran to the main entrance, making quick work of the guards at the front, then bursting open the front doors, fully expecting waves of soldiers to meet them at the entrance.

But they were met with a dark, empty main chamber, or at least, it was empty for the most part. 

On the throne at the very end of the room, sprawled a hulking being shrouded in the shadows. 

"Well, well, look who it is," the voice echoed powerfully off the walls of the empty chamber in an intimidating, mocking tone. 

Chan and Felix tightened the grip on their weapons as the figure moved, slowly standing up and walking towards them. 

This was the Overlord, and he was a walking nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you guys so much for reading, it really does mean alot! Gotta say it makes me happy to log in every morning and see the "Bookmarked" number increase little by little. I'm glad you like following the story!
> 
> Do drop your thoughts and questions in the comments, I love reading and responding to them!


	12. Chapter 12 - The Overlord Makhai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The Prophetic Prince Felix!" The Overlord boomed, his voice still carrying that mocking tone. He shifted his glowing red eyes to Chan. "And the Leader of Vekten, oh well I'm flattered to have you both here!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a little bonus tidbit in the end notes, so be sure to check that out too!

Chan gripped his swords, battle ready, silently cursing and wishing that Felix hadn't had this hair-brained idea of going after the Overlord himself, especially after King Seungmin had already told them he was supremely powerful. 

Chan had envisioned a more humanoid opponent, because that would have been easier to grasp mentally and easier to face in a fight, but this creature was barely human.

He was at least 8 feet tall, and was strong and sinewy, built like a bull. His skin was that same deep, dark ashen gray that the shadow soldiers had, almost like slate.  
He had black tendrils of what looked like writhing shadows extending from his face and his head, around which was a sharp edged, geometrically designed band of black metal that resembled a misshapen crown.  
His armour looked like it was made of obsidian, hard and possibly impenetrable, with that same insignia they had seen on the soldiers. 

His eyes were probably the only thing that gave them the impression that they were face to face with a fully sentient being and not a figment of their imagination. They resembled the eyes of a snake rather than that of a human; thin red reptilian pupils against dull gray eyeballs. 

"The Prophetic Prince Felix!" The Overlord boomed, his voice still carrying that mocking tone. He shifted his glowing red eyes to Chan. "And the Leader of Vekten, oh well I'm flattered to have you both here!"

Neither of them said anything, neither did they move. They wouldn't move until the Overlord did. 

The Overlord walked calmly closer to Felix, regarding him with an amused look in his eyes. "Of course," his voice was now dangerously low, "I suppose I should thank you, hm?"

"For?" Felix sneered.

The Overlord laughed, and it was a terrifying, intimidating sound. "For releasing me of course, for releasing Erebus," he widened his arms, looking around the expanse of the chamber, "for us to take over every inch of your miserable land."

"And what does that give you?" Chan demanded.

"Vengeance." The Overlord snarled. "Vengeance on all five of these putrid people and the insufferable worms who inhabit them." He cocked his head to a side and gave Chan a sickening smirk, "and believe me, Chief, I will make them all suffer."

That was precisely what made Chan tick. Despite never charging first or making the move, Chan slashed his swords at the Overlord, cutting deep swathes into his forearms, causing deep purple blood to spill out. 

But the Overlord was barely fazed, if anything he was amused. "Well if you insist on being the first to suffer," he drew out his sword, a massive obsidian blade, infused with onyx and brought it down upon Chan. 

Chan lunged out of the way, ripples of wind already forming around him as he levitated into the air, slashing back at the Overlord. 

Felix attacked him with his spear on one side while Chan kept him busy on the other, but they gravely underestimated the Overlord. Swarms of shadows formed around his other arm, creating another sword out of thin air, which he used to parry Felix's attacks. 

Somehow, he was able to fight them both at the same time, effortlessly. 

Chan and Felix wove between each other gracefully and perfectly in sync, deflecting attacks and attacking in a perfect rhythm. Together, they were at least somewhat of a match for the Overlord. 

But that was before the shadows in every corner of the dark chamber came to life, and screeching shadow banshees swarmed around the two men, gnashing and slashing at them with their teeth and claws. 

Chan spun his swords around, creating torrents of wind that sliced right through them, but the numbers kept growing. Felix rushed for the Overlord in the meantime, hoping to get a shot at his neck with his spear, which was the only bit of exposed flesh. 

The Overlord met his attacks, delivering blows that were so strong they knocked Felix off his feet over and over again. But he didnt stop, he kept bobbing and weaving between strikes, attacking the Overlord where he could.

At one point, their weapons met in a clash, with Felix struggling to hold his own and not fall back. If he did, the sword would come directly into contact with his neck. 

"I'd always wanted to fight the King of the Prophecy," the Overlord mulled, "to destroy you would be the greatest pleasure in a thousand years."

Shadows with glowing eyes started to take shape behind the Overlord, snarling and ready to attack Felix. As much as he fought back, he feared that this may just be the end for him. 

Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind sent the knocked the Overlord backwards, whilst ripping apart the shadow banshees around him. Felix turned to see Chan behind the attack, having destroyed the other banshees that had been encircling him before. 

But the Overlord was already back on his feet, charging at Felix with his sword. Felix deflected, weakly, the hard iron of Chan's spear barely strong enough for the obsidian blade, and Felix faltered. This time, he wouldn't be fast enough to defend himself. 

But Felix was untouched. Chan jumped in front of Felix, his swords were knocked out of his hands and the blade sliced against his chest before the Overlord kicked him, sending him sprawling several feet backwards. 

Time slowed down. 

"CHAN!" Felix screamed, but the man didn't reply, he barely moved. 

Felix could feel his body warm up as despair rushed through him, but stronger than that was deep, pure fury. An incredible heat ran through him, as if he was burning from the inside out, but in a strange way, it was a burning that brought no pain. 

It was as if Felix wasn't in control of his body anymore, but instinct was. 

From where Chan lay, he struggled a bit, feeling an excruciating pain in his chest and left arm. He couldn't move, all he could do was look up.

And he couldn't believe was he saw. 

An aura of golden energy surrounded Felix, and all around him were pure white flames. The flames danced around Felix's body, and started to spread up the walls, creeping across the floor, burning the screeching banshees into nothing but mist. 

Felix felt absolute, supreme power like he could never feel before, and for the first time, he saw fear in the Overlord's eyes as he inched closer, as the white flames spun around his feet, lifting him into the air in a funnel of fire. 

Flames burst out like a blinding white inferno from Felix's palms, straight at the Overlord, who was thrown backwards by the force of the energy. One entire part of his body was singed and smoking, and his roars of pain filled the entire chamber. 

He clambered to his knees, snarling at Felix, "This isn't over," he spat, and swarms and swarms of banshees burst out of the shadows behind him, engulfing Felix.  
While Felix was distracted, the seriously wounded Overload made a break for it, escaping while Felix dealt with the swarms of hundreds of banshees around him.

But they barely lasted minutes, as Felix himself blazed like a supernova, burning the shadows around him, causing them to evaporate into nothing but an echo of a shriek.

He had destroyed them all, but as he looked around the chamber, the Overlord was nowhere to be seen. Felix's eyes fell on Chan, whom he saw was conscious, watching him weakly. The whole chamber was alight in white fire, but it had formed almost a ring around Chan, not touching him. 

Felix floated to the ground, the aura around him fading, and as it did, so did the fires. The moment his feet touched the ground, he ran to Chan, falling to his knees and cradling the man in his arms. 

"Chan! Chan, are you ok?" Chan only groaned in reply.

He saw the bloody gashes through his clothes, and although his hands were trembling, Felix gently placed his hands on Chan's wounds. 

Chan cried out in pain, but as the light green magic swirled around Felix's palms, and around Chan's wounds, his pain and his groans ceased. Felix's healing powers had healed Chan's injuries just enough before Changbin came bursting in through the doors of the castle, frantically looking around.

His eyes fell on Felix and Chan, and he ran to them, kneeling to see what had happened to his Chief. 

"Chan what-"

Chan chuckled, but then groaned as the pain hit. "I'm alright Changbin," he looked at Felix briefly before turning back. "I am now at least."

Felix hadn't finished healing him, but addressed Changbin. "Take him to the Kingdom's doctors or healers. He's alright now, I've been able to take care of the damage, but he still needs medical attention. Go. Now."

Changbin summoned winds around Chan, lifting him into the air. 

He frowned at Felix. "Why aren't you coming? And what was that light? It lit up half the city."

Felix smirked. "Chan will fill you in. I have something to do first."

As Changbin took Chan away, Felix closed his eyes, feeling that new energy raging through his body. He opened his eyes, and opened his palm and saw the bright white flame dancing in the middle.

He walked outside the castle, rings of fire forming around his body as he levitated to the very top of the castle, on to the roof. He stood there, looking around the kingdom, noting that the castle was its very centre.

He saw that the people of the city were above ground now, looking in the direction of the castle. 

Felix knew that his magic obliterated the shadow banshees in seconds, and was the only thing that had actually injured the Overlord. He looked up, and saw that the sky was still teeming with banshees, and he knew that the shadow soldiers still patrolled the city. 

Felix took a deep breath, and raised his palms to the sky, feeling the magic charge through him. Flames whipped around his body as he opened his palms, lighting the entire sky up with white fire. 

He channelled more and more magic through his body, feeding the fire, feeding the flames until the entire sky was alight. The banshees disappeared into mist, for miles and miles as far as the light touched. 

The castle itself was a blinding sight, with Felix's magic so powerful that the light from the fire spread through the entire sky, setting the entire kingdom alight. 

Banshees faded wherever they were, shadow soldiers around the city withered as their skin started smoking and burning, before they too crumbled into nothing but dust. 

Felix didnt stop until he was sure that the magic had touched the whole kingdom, he mustve exhausted his magic for several minutes on end before he was finally sure, before he finally dropped to his knees as the flames faded.

He sat on the roof, looking up at the sky that was now clear, and free of the plague of dark magic that had kept it clouded for weeks. 

He could now see the night sky, the moon and the stars, now knowing with absolute certainty that despite all the evil that the Prophecy had unleashed, Felix was the one to bring an end to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES Felix found and unleashed his power! Also chan is dangerously whipped for this boy istg
> 
> Anyway, I had so much fun writing this chapter! Felix is just touching the very surface of his potential.
> 
> Also, couple fun facts- this story is inspired by both the zodiac and Greek mythology too.  
> I remember reading that Virgo magic included holy fire, which is the power that Felix has.
> 
> Chan and Changbin are able to control the winds because Libra is an air sign.
> 
> Erebus, the lost kingdom in this story, in Greek mythology is the personification of darkness and shadows, hence the Dark Army and the Shadow Banshees.
> 
> The Overlord's name, Makhai is the name given to daemons or spirits of Battle (sons of the goddess of discord - Eris)
> 
> As you can probably tell, I'm a big nerd :3 thought I'd share some of the story's inspirations with you.


	13. Chapter 13 - Alliances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan meant so much to him, and what he felt for him was so much deeper than just a surface level attraction. Chan was his safety, his security, his comfort, and he was terrified of losing him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably the longest, fluffiest, most heated chapter I've written thus far :3 hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> No spoilers but hehe yall finally get what yall want ;)

Felix woke up the next day in a part of the castle, remembering the events of the day before, still trying to believe that it wasnt a dream.

He sat up in bed, closing his eyes and his palm, then opening his eyes to see the white flames dancing in the palm of his hand. 

It was unreal to him. 

All these years without a single sign of possessing any magic, and suddenly he uncovered this insane level of power within him.

He wasn't entirely sure what unlocked it, but he remembered how intensely he felt about seeing Chan injured. He remembered the mix of fear, anger and an overwhelming sense of something else that had finally made him snap. 

Chan meant so much to him, and what he felt for him was so much deeper than just a surface level attraction. Chan was his safety, his security, his comfort, and he was terrified of losing him. 

Felix would have destroyed the Overlord in a second in his anger for having hurt Chan, and even though he had somehow escaped, Felix was going to end him, and he knew that without a doubt. 

He freshened up and went out into the main town square, where he could see the townspeople already starting to rebuild their kingdom. The sun was shining down, and the people were happy, relieved and safe.

As Felix passed, they stopped their work, bowing deeply to him, their smiles full of gratitude. Felix bowed back; finding comfort and a restored sense of confidence in seeing the difference that he had made. 

The King approached him, dropping down to one knee in respect, much to Felix's surprise.  
"There aren't enough words to express my gratitude to you, Prince Felix."

He rose, clasping the Felix's hands within his own. "We were afraid we may not see the light of day again at all."

"King Seung-"

The King laughed. "Seungmin, please, Prince Felix. For all you have done? The least I can offer you is to address me comfortably."

"Seungmin," Felix continued, "as glamorous as this all seems, I didnt even know I possessed this power until the very last minute."

Seungmin smiled comfortingly. "Whatever evil has awoken, Prince Felix, there will always be equally strong forces of good ready to meet it. You are that force of good." 

"But this war is not over, Seungmin. The Overlord is still alive although your kingdom is now free. It's just a matter of time before he attacks one of the other kingdoms."

"And when and if the Dark Army does, Felix," the King said, "You have me and my entire army to stand with you in battle."

Felix was stunned as Seungmin continued. "We will fight this war together. I hope that you, and Parthenos can consider Tavros an ally."

Felix smiled, clasping Seungmin's arm in the classic greeting of the kingdom. "And I hope you can consider me a friend, Seungmin."

The King nodded, smiling.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to find the Chief, would you know where he is?"

Seungmin directed him towards their main hospital and healing centre, and Felix almost ran in his haste to get to Chan.

He found himself at Chan's room, and knocked lightly before letting himself in. The room was luxurious, and Felix figured that this was one reserved for royalty and the like. 

Chan was laying in bed, bandages wrapped over his bare chest and arms, but otherwise, he was fine. He lifted his head up as Felix entered and smirked at him.

"Ah there's the Prophetic Prince. What took you so long?"

Felix smiled brightly, beyond happy to see Chan ok. He sat on the edge of Chan's bed as Chan sat up, slowly taking Felix's hand within his own, looking at him with adoration in his eyes. 

Felix squeezed his hand, gently touching his face. After everything that had happened yesterday, he wasn't scared of showing Chan how he felt. 

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

Chan took Felix's hand from his face, gently kissing it as he laced his fingers through his. "Better now, thanks to you."

Felix blushed, feeling butterflies in his stomach as Chan's lips touched him. "I was worried about you," he said, looking at the bandages all over him, gently running his fingers across the part of his arm that wasn't wrapped up. 

Chan absent mindedly played with Felix's fingers. "You healed me just enough, Lix. But what was really amazing was your magic!" 

He propped himself up to face Felix better, ignoring the pain his own injuries gave him in his haste to properly peer into Felix's face. "Felix," his voice was full of wonder. "It was as if you were made of fire, but in the most beautiful way possible. If I was to describe what I thought an angel looked like..." his voice trailed off, his eyes searching Felix's face with more than just their usual fondness. 

He gently touched the spot on Felix's chest where the insignia was, his eyes flicking across him, following the patterns of energy within that Felix couldn't see. He huffed a laugh quietly under his breath. "Remember I told you that your magic was locked within you?"

"Yeah?"

"It's flowing like a river now."

Chan traced the pathways of energy down Felix's arm, his fingers following the patterns of magic beneath the Prince's skin.

Felix gasped softly at his touch, trying his best not to start blushing again. 

"How did you unlock it?" Chan asked, looking up at him.

Felix held his gaze for a moment, wondering how to tell him that it was his intense fear of losing him and his intense feelings for Chan that had somehow done the trick. 

"I-" Felix started, "something happened when I saw you hurt, Chan." He looked down at his hands, which were comfortably intertwined with Chan's.

"Seeing you like that, injured and helpless, it was like a blinding fury that came over me. If he had attacked me, fine, but not you." He looked back up at him. "Not you Chan." 

"So....it was me?" Chan was being vulnerable and genuine in that moment, the traces of joking and teasing had disappeared. "You were able to do all of that, because of me?"

"Yeah," Felix half whispered, his heart in his throat. 

He avoided looking at Chan, diverting his attention to Chan's injuries instead. He felt he could heal him completely. 

"Do you trust me?" He asked Chan.

"Is that even a question?" Chan replied, without missing a beat. 

Felix moved slightly to gently undo Chan's bandages, who groaned at the pain as he moved his arm. He sat up completely in bed to make it easier, and slowly, Felix had undone all the bandages. 

The gashes on his chest and arm were huge, and Felix's heart fell as he remembered the scene of how they were formed, vividly. 

"This might hurt a bit," he told Chan, before gingerly laying his hands on the open wounds.

Chan's face contorted in pain as he tried not to cry out. 

"I'm sorry love," Felix said, seeing Chan's expression. He let the healing magic flow through his palms, putting all his emotion into it. 

The green magic danced between his fingers, and the more emotion Felix poured into it, the stronger his magic became. He could see the wounds healing right before his eyes, the skin binding back together. 

Chan eased up as his wounds healed and the pain began to fade. In a few minutes, Felix had completely healed Chan, and the gashes had closed up. 

"It worked!" Felix exclaimed, glancing over at Chan, who was smirking and playfully frowning at him. 

"Did you just call me 'love'?" 

Felix's mouth just hung open as he tried to figure out what to say, barely noticing Chan's now-healed arm snaking around his waist. 

"So I'm 'love' to you now?" Chan teased, pulling Felix closer, his other hand playing with Felix's fingers, watching how much he kept blushing. 

"You know, you can say something instead of just turning red."

"Well if you want I can go back to calling you Chief Chan and being moody and annoyed with you again," it was Felix's turn to tease. 

"Please no."

"So you prefer us being close?" Felix smirked.

Chan pulled him towards him. "I'd prefer you much closer." His voice was low now, and there was a certain heat to his voice, along with a tinge of cockiness. 

Felix's heart had started to race. He had one hand in the crook of Chan's neck and the other arm wound around his waist.

"Close enough?" Felix's voice was deep and low, echoing in Chan's ears and giving him goosebumps. 

Chan shook his head lightly, his eyes flicking between Felix's lips and his eyes. He pulled him in even further now, and there was a comfortable warmth between them.

Felix was flush against Chan's bare chest, and the Chief was positive the Prince could probably feel the way it was pounding. He ran his hands over Felix's back, coming back down to rest at his hips. 

"I don't think you can ever be too close," his voice was barely a whisper. 

Chan's heart was pounding as he saw the look of vulnerability in Felix's eyes, matched only by the adoration in Chan's own. He gently cupped Felix's face, his fingers finding themselves slightly tangled in his hair. 

Felix leaned forward slowly, his hands resting on Chan's bare shoulders as his thumbs rubbed circles into Chan's neck. His mind was hazy, honestly. All he could see, feel, sense - was Chan. His warm skin beneath his palms, and the light shiver of excitement that shook Chan's body ever so slightly.

And there was something in Chan's eyes - a heat that was almost magnetic, locking against Felix's and drawing him in.

The heat translated into action as Chan's head lifted off the pillow, his hand sliding back up Felix's body to cradle his neck as he brought his face closer to his own, tilting his head ever so slightly as their eyes fluttered shut.

The next thing Felix was felt was the soft touch of Chan's lips against his own. Gentle, affectionate, just a cursory brush of his lips between Felix's.

Both of them felt a rush of warmth, like the gentle embers of newborn fire, encase their hearts. It was a feeling of sweet rapture, a concoction of growing affections and mounting desire. 

It was barely a few seconds before the soft, tentative kiss blossomed into one that was deeper. Felix caught Chan's lips between his own, holding them in place for a moment to savour the taste, before sinking deeper against his body as his lips explored every sensation that Chan had to offer. 

In return, Chan poured out every ounce of all the growing love he had for Felix, kissing him passionately as his fingers tangled in his hair and he pulled him even closer, warmth pooling around every inch of flesh that made contact between the two of them. 

They wrapped themselves around each other, kissing each other with a sense of delicate desperation, having held in these feelings in for so long. 

Their lips lingered on each other before they gently pulled away to breathe, resting their foreheads together. Felix felt a surge of happiness course through him, glad that Chan did in fact feel the same way about him, and overjoyed that he didn't have to try and hide it anymore. 

Chan's fingers gently traced patterns on Felix's back as they sat there holding each other in silence, having already said everything they needed to in their kiss.

"I'd been waiting to do that for so long," Chan said after a few moments' silence, gently pecking Felix's lips once more. 

"So have I," Felix let his hands roam across the expanse of Chan's arms before coming back up to rest around his neck, staring into his warm eyes, beyond grateful that he was ok, that he was safe, that he was his. 

"But please," he continued, "never jump into harm's way for me again, I don't know what I would've done if something had happened to you."

"Felix," Chan replied, shifting the man slightly so that Felix was more comfortable, as he was practically sitting in Chan's lap now with his legs wrapped around his waist. "Imagine what would've happened if I didn't."

He smirked, slowly running his hands up Felix's back. "Besides," he tilted his chin up slightly, smirking teasingly, "it turns out I have to get attacked by an Overlord for you to kiss me. Maybe I should do it more often."

Felix laughed, "Do it more often and I'm never kissing you again," he joked. 

"Oh really?" Chan smirked, suddenly pulling Felix forward so that he fell on to his chest. Their faces were inches away from each other again. "You really think you can do that?"

Felix looked at Chan's soft lips, now reddened from all the kissing, tempted to kiss him again, but he smirked and began to pull away teasingly. "I think I can manage."

Before he could pull away, Chan held his forearms and pulled him back towards him, crashing his lips into his. Felix laughed as he kissed him, easing his body against Chan's as he now came into a position where he was lying on top of him. 

Chan wound his arms around his back, laughing into the kiss as well, then catching Felix's hips between his knees as he rolled them over on bed so that he was now on top. 

The kiss got deeper, and the essence of the kiss was more longing, their tongues teasingly slipping between their lips. 

"Never leave me," Felix breathed when Chan's lips left his for a split second. 

The other man took in the sight of the Prince, now wrapped around him as his golden hair lay splayed out against the red velvet pillow beneath his head, before leaning back in to gently brush his lips against his. 

"I won't."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND THEY FINALLY KISSED!
> 
> Ahhhh it was so satisfying to finally get these two lovebirds together. I wanted to wait a while before throwing the kiss in there because I wanted to cement the fact that there are genuine feelings between them, and it's not just a physical attraction.
> 
> Our boys do be whipped for each other.
> 
> Them finally acknowledging their feelings after the encounter with the Overlord seemed like the right way for things to go, culmination of emotions and all that. 
> 
> Anywho, I'm gonna make life tough for them hashtag sorry not sorry 🙃


	14. Chapter 14 - Allies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We are, unfortunately, at the brink of war against Erebus," Seungmin led, "and as leaders of 3 of 5 of the kingdoms, we need to find a definitive way to end this, for good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well after that very fluffy chapter, the real threat of Erebus makes itself known - they all sink into something much greater than themselves.

Chan and Felix stayed in Tavros a little longer to help with getting the entire kingdom back on its feet again.

King Seungmin was determined to have his army battle-ready in case they faced any more unexpected threats. The war machines that they had been working on for weeks prior had finally been completed, and so were restorations to the castle and the city. 

Once things had settled in back to normal, Felix, Chan and the King sat in for a meeting to decide the way forward. They had unanimously agreed that just because one threat was dealt with, it didn't mean that others wouldn't sprout. 

"We are, unfortunately, at the brink of war against Erebus," Seungmin led, "and as leaders of 3 of 5 of the kingdoms, we need to find a definitive way to end this, for good."

"Is there any way of restoring the seal?" Felix asked. 

The king shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. Now that the seal is broken it would be useless to try and reactivate it."

"What if we were to take out the Overlord, wouldn't that solve the problem?" Chan wondered out loud. 

"Not exactly," the king pondered, getting rid of their leader doesnt necessarily exterminate the rest." He paused. "There is however, something that we could try, but we would need the leader of every kingdom if we were to try it."

"There is a land, far north of Vekten, where very few have ever been before, as it is uninhabitable. It's known is the Realm of Niorun. The few who have been there were the founders of our lands, and the last that they went there was when they were faced with the same crisis." 

"And what will we find there?" Chan asked. 

"That, we don't know, unfortunately. It has never been recorded in any of our texts, or those of any of the other kingdoms either. Only its existence is known for sure."

Chan nodded. "Vekten knows of it. It's over a thousand miles north of us, but even we don't know what lies there."

"Could we get there in the first place?" Felix asked.

"Without a problem," Chan affirmed. 

"Ok, but that brings us to our next problem, delivering this message to Krios and Verseau."

"About that," Seungmin interjected, "I have still not heard anything from Krios. It's been over a week since you rid us of the Dark Army yet Krios has been unnaturally silent, despite the messages that I have sent."

"Their army was sabotaged several weeks ago when they were poised to attack our kingdom," Felix remembered. "Do you think that has something to do with it?"

"That is my concern," Seungmin affirmed. "I'm going to take a few of my army and travel there myself."

"In the meantime," Chan said, "General Changbin and my best warriors can help to look after your kingdom while you're gone." 

He looked over at Felix, who nodded. They both had the same idea. 

"And we'll accompany you to Krios." Felix finished. 

Seungmin looked at Chan, puzzled. "Chan, I thought that Vekten was strictly against being involved with other kingdoms' affairs."

Chan chuckled lightly. "Not anymore. Besides, we'd all fall if we tried to stand against this threat alone." 

"Thank you," Seungmin said looking between the both of them. "You have both done so much for my kingdom, and you continue to do so. I'm forever in your debt."

Felix shook his head, standing up and clasping the King's arms between his own. "There is no debt, Seungmin." 

Seungmin smiled and nodded. "We leave tomorrow then, is that enough time to organize for Vekten's forces to be here?"

"Of course."

They dispersed, and Chan and Felix walked through the kingdom, content as they noticed how happy its people now were.

Chan lightly brushed his hand against Felix's, who entwined his fingers with his as they walked.

"A month ago, would you have ever seen any of this coming?" Chan asked as a couple of children ran past them, laughing and playing. 

"A month ago I had thought that my prophecy was all a load of nonsense," Felix replied. "Now look."

They reached a hilltop which overlooked the valley of the town below, settling down for a few moments before they got ready for the journey ahead.

Chan lay down, resting his head in Felix's lap as Felix idly ran his fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes as he lay there, and Felix couldn't help but marvel at Chan's features. His sculpted jawline, his velvety skin, Felix found beauty even in the scar that ran across Chan's eye. 

Lightly, he ran his fingers across Chan's face, as if he wanted his fingertips to remember every feature. Chan smiled lazily as he felt Felix's fingers brush against his jawline and neck, and opened his eyes to look up at him. 

Felix stilled his hand in the crook of Chan's neck, his fingers still tracing little circles in his skin. "You're gorgeous." Felix's voice cracked as it came out, as if he was in awe as he looked down at the man in his lap. 

He was in fact, in awe. 

Chan smirked, sitting up, and drawing Felix closer to him, lifting him up slightly so that each of his legs slotted on each side of Chan's hips.

Although he was still smirking, he looked intensely into Felix's eyes, making the man blush a little bit under Chan's feverish gaze. 

"And you," he began, not breaking eye contact, "are the single most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes on."

Felix flashed him his usual bright smile, giggling and blushing as Chan smirked, ducking forward to lay a kiss along Felix's jawline.

"I mean it." His voice was low as he whispered into Felix's ear, and he felt little sparks of electricity prickle at his skin. 

Their lips met shortly after, slow kisses as their hands wound around each other, before they softly drew back, resting their heads together.

"Felix," Chan said suddenly, after a few moments of silence, his voice a little melancholy and not as chirpy as before. "What happens after all this is done?"

"What do you mean?"

"With us, Felix. What happens with us? We're in two entirely different kingdoms."

"Chan," Felix said gently, "we've only just begun."

"I know-" Chan said, leaning back to face him properly, "but how will we see each other?"

"Chan you literally fly." 

"Yeah but-" 

"So fly to me, Chan," Felix said, cupping his face. "You have a second home in Parthenos. You have a second home with me."

Chan stared into Felix's eyes, his words sinking in. He leant forward and kissed Felix again, a special warmth spreading across his lips. "And you're always home with me too, Felix."

"I know," Felix said, kissing his cheek and then laying back on the grass. "Do you realise we're probably the first monarchs to be involved with each other? I don't think that's happened before."

Chan laughed. "Maybe that's part of your prophecy too."

"Oh so you're part of my destiny then?" Felix teased.

Chan leaned over him. "Maybe." He smirked.

Felix grinned, then pulled Chan down suddenly by the collar of his shirt, who laughed and lost his balance as he fell against Felix.

Felix wrapped his arms around Chan's neck, both of them smiling as their lips met, kissing each other as the sun shone over Tavros.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little more fluff 💘 can you tell I'm in love with their relationship? Chan is #whipped for his man 
> 
> But what lies ahead in Krios? 👀
> 
> Thank you all for being a part of this story! Lots more happening ahead, so please leave your thoughts in the comments, I always love reading them!


	15. Chapter 15 - The Kingdom of Krios

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kingdom itself was a fortress, surrounded by enormous stone walls hundreds of feet tall, surrounding every inch of the city. There were a set of giant gates at the entrance to the kingdom, but strangely, no guards.
> 
> Seungmin noticed this and frowned. "Something's wrong."

The next day, Chan, Felix, Seungmin and a small group of Tavros's highest ranking soldiers embarked on the journey to Krios.

Instead of travelling by air, Felix and Chan joined Seungmin and the rest to travel by land in a vehicle that they had created. Travelling by land would make their journey even longer, which meant they would only reach Krios the next day. 

Tavros was the only kingdom to have such technologically advanced means of transport. It was their Astral gift; in addition to unbelievably superior strength, they had a certain magic touch for creation and innovation.

After a day's journey, they arrived at Krios. The kingdom itself was a fortress, surrounded by enormous stone walls hundreds of feet tall, surrounding every inch of the city. There were a set of giant gates at the entrance to the kingdom, but strangely, no guards.

Seungmin noticed this and frowned. "Something's wrong."

Both Chan and Felix drew their weapons, just to be on the safe side. The party exited their vehicle, approaching the entrance. "Hold on," Chan said, and then boosted himself into the air, high enough to see over the massive walls. 

When he came down, his face was a mask of worry. "The city is completely empty."

Felix's stomach fell. That was exactly what Tavros was like when they had reached it. 

Seungmin turned to his soldiers and nodded. They followed Seungmin up to the main gates and following his movements, they all took a stance, with one leg behind the other, drawing both their hands in over their right hip.

Perfectly synchronized, they then shot their hands forward, hitting the gate with a level of superhuman strength that neither Chan nor Felix had ever seen before. 

The gates creaked slightly, then slowly collapsed backwards, crashing down. A cold fog seemed to roll out, creeping around their legs. They looked at each other in confusion, walking into the city cautiously. 

Despite it being morning, the kingdom was dark, as if it was just before sunrise. Unlike Tavros, where the sun was blocked out because of the shadow banshees, in Krios's case it was as if the sun simply didnt reach the land.

The group made their way into a completely deserted kingdom, which looked like it was in an even worse shape than Tavros had been. Krios looked like it had been abandoned for decades. Some of the houses and buildings were crumbling and derelict, and there was no sign of life. 

"What the hell happened here..." Chan muttered under his breath. He shared a worried glance with Felix, feeling they might have another fight on their hands. 

Seungmin led the way forward, having been to the kingdom several times before. He was shocked at the condition it was in now. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he saw something glinting. He turned sharply, edging forward carefully to inspect a corner of a house, but there was nothing there. 

"What is it your Highness?" His Admiral asked. 

Seungmin's brow furrowed. "Nothing," he said, but he wasn't all that sure. He turned back in the direction they were walking, and saw a glint again, right in front of him. Then he started noticing that it was the air itself that was shimmering.

He noticed the shine in more than one place, as if the air itself was reflecting light from somewhere. The others had noticed it too, and edged forward. 

Seungmin cautiously approached a spot where the air shimmered, then lifted his staff and sliced through it, expecting something to happen, but nothing did. 

He stepped back. "That's odd," he said. The group seemed oddly silent, so Seungmin turned back to address them.

But they were gone.

Seungmin's eyes widened in shock. They were nowhere to be seen, not Chan, not Felix, not his Admiral or his soldiers. 

Seungmin turned back around to the spot of shimmering air, thinking that maybe that had something to do with it.

But as he turned around, the entire scenery had changed completely.

All around him was just white. No buildings, no houses, no sky or ceiling or floor, just white. It was like existing on a plane of nothingness. 

Seungmin didnt know what he was standing on, or even how he was standing. He took a few steps forward, and realised that he couldnt even hear the sound of his footsteps. He couldn't even hear himself breathe. It was complete, absolute silence.

Suddenly, chains seemed to appear out of nowhere, aiming for Seungmin at a blinding speed, and without making a sound at all. Seungmin jumped out of the way, weaving between the chains as best he could, hitting the chains away with his staff.

It was disorienting to not hear any noise from the contact, to not hear any movement. Before he could react, another chain from behind him wrapped around his neck, pulling him backwards.

Seungmin expected to fall on to the ground, or on to whatever solid he had been walking on, but he just kept falling, endlessly. He struggled to get out of the vice grip of the chain around his throat but to no avail. 

Chains from everywhere continued to attack him and Seungmin was too weak to defend himself as he kept being pulled down. One chain wrapped around his staff and yanked it out of his hands, and he didn't know where it went after that. 

He was horrified, and tried yelling again. He could feel the pressure and strain on his vocal chords, and the rough pain that it left behind, but there wasnt a single sound.

He just kept falling endlessly, until he finally lost consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They really can't catch a break, can they?


	16. Chapter 16 - Krios Pt II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This entire Kingdom is a trap."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So maybe they've all walked into something that could be more than they can actually handle 👀

The group watched as Seungmin walked up to the shimmering sliver of air in front of him and slash at it with his staff, before disappearing into thin air, right before their eyes.

The group was left speechless, and after a few moments of shock, the soldiers scrambled forward in a frenzy towards the shimmering air in an attempt to save their king.

"Stop!" Chan yelled, "Don't move!" 

The soldiers stopped, looking at each other with worry and confusion. 

"We don't have any idea what just happened," Chan explained, "this entire kingdom feels like a trap, so move carefully, let's try and figure this all out." 

Everyone was in agreement, so in silence, they moved forward, avoiding the shimmering slivers of air where they could. Unfortunately, they couldn't avoid all of it, some soldiers disappeared into thin air, and they saw the reflection of light only after. 

It finally came down to just Chan, Felix and the Admiral. 

Suddenly the earth shook, but rather than an earthquake, it felt more like the earth was pulsating. Ripples of shadows seemed to roll across the buildings in rhythm with every time the ground under them shook. 

"Stick close together," Felix instructed, and the three of them drew in closer. A wave of darkness seemed to roll in from the distance like a shadow, and before the Admiral could step back towards the men, the shadow rolled over her, and she vanished. 

Chan pushed Felix out of the way of the dark wave, both of them tumbling to the ground. 

"What the hell is happening!" Chan cursed, dusting himself off and standing up. 

"Chan," Felix was concerned, "you don't think that they're...."

"No," Chan shook his head. "They wouldn't have disappeared so easily if so. They're alive, but they're...somewhere."

He paused, regarding Felix. "You remember what you did in Tavros? Where the light of your fire cleansed the city?"

Felix caught on to what Chan was saying and nodded, summoning a ball of fire in his hand.

But the fire didn't appear. 

"Wait what-" Felix tried again, forcing the magic through him, but there wasn't so much as a spark in his hand. 

"Chan," Felix turned to him in a panic, "what's wrong with my powers?"

Chan looked at him, reading his magic, and his face fell. "Felix, it's gone."

"What?!"

"I- I can't see any magic at all, not the healing, not the fire, nothing. In fact," he looked up, scanning the kingdom, "I see no magic anywhere. If anything, there's an absolute absence of magic."

"But how can that be? You saw what happened to the others!"

"I know Felix but-" suddenly Chan's face changed, a look of deep worry settling in. 

Chan made a swift motion in the air in front of him, but nothing happened. He tried again, and still nothing. 

"I can't command the wind" He looked at his hands and arms, scanning his own powers. "Felix, my magic is gone too."

Felix ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "What now?"

Chan was visibly unsettled now, this was not something they had expected. He tried to calm down and rationalize the situation. 

"Ok, let's keep going, and see if we can find the rest, or at least try to figure out what happened here. And most of all, let's make sure neither one of us disappears."

Felix sighed, calming himself, then he nodded. They'd figure it out, they had to. 

The two of them cautiously trudged on forward, before Felix noticed something, stopping in his tracks and craning his neck to look at the ground. 

"How did we not notice that before?" He pointed at the ground. 

Chan looked, and saw that there were rings and rings of faintly glowing symbols on the ground for as far as they could see. 

"That's an ancient language," Felix observed, "and look, it's the 5 same symbols over and over."

He paused, then exclaimed: "That's an ancient symbol for Virgo!" He pointed.

Chan followed his gaze, and spotted another one. "And that's the one for Libra."

Felix knelt down, touching a symbol he didn't recognize. "Which means these must be the symbols for the other 3 constellations!" 

When he was met by silence, Felix turned around. "Chan?"

But Chan was nowhere to be seen.

Felix's heart sank as the growing realization hit him.

"Oh no," he breathed, his blood running cold. 

Chan was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one bites the dust.


	17. Chapter 17 - Krios Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan was now all alone in the middle of this warped city. He was without his powers, he couldn't see any magic, he wasn't even sure what the threat was and where it was. The enemy, if there was one, was unseen, and that was far worse than battling a physical entity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seungmin is gone, Felix is gone, and it's only Chan who remains in a kingdom that seems to be a predator in itself.

Felix knelt down to inspect the symbols, after they had identified that two of them were Libra and Virgo. 

He touched one of them, and in the blink of an eye he disappeared, as if he was swallowed into the earth. 

Chan didn't even have time to react, he just stood there, frozen, staring at the empty space where Felix had been crouching barely a second ago. 

Chan was now all alone in the middle of this warped city. He was without his powers, he couldn't see any magic, he wasn't even sure what the threat was and where it was. The enemy, if there was one, was unseen, and that was far worse than battling a physical entity.

At least in a physical fight, Chan was pretty confident that he would win. 

Every single one of the advantages he usually had in battle or crisis were lost on him today. 

A mild panic started to set in as Chan frantically looked around, yelling for Felix, but finding no response. For once, Chan couldn't think straight, he couldn't figure a way out of this situation. He was a strong leader who'd faced terrifying situations before - having his life at risk was nothing new to him.

But there was something about these circumstances, something about how supernatural this all was that was digging deeper into his bones. 

Just keep going, he told himself, just keep going and you'll figure a way out of this. 

So he forced himself to keep walking, keeping a lookout for any shimmering slivers of air and just to be safe, he made an attempt to not step on any of the symbols.

By now he had already figured out that the kingdom itself acted almost like a portal somewhere. Where, he didn't know yet, but at least that knowledge was a start. 

He had crossed half the city when he saw something strange in the distance. There was a massive pagoda, presumably the palace, and all around it were columns of dark, swirling energy.

If anything, Chan knew what that energy was, and that was the dark energy of Erebus. He sprinted towards the Pagoda, and when he finally reached it, he was surprised to have not been met with any soldiers or banshees.

The columns of black mist just kept swirling towards the sky and beyond, undisturbed. He wondered if the energy had anything to do with everyone disappearing. He reached out to touch it, but then remembered what the mist had done to the trees and the vegetation previously; it withered it out until it died. 

Cautiously, Chan took his sword out and touched the tip of it against the swirling black mass.

And suddenly, he was falling.

He couldn't even see where he was, or what he was falling into, just that the scene around him had completely changed. Suddenly his arm struck something sharp and metal, scraping him and piercing through the tough leathery sleeve of his shirt, abruptly stopping his descent and holding him in place. 

Chan yelled out in pain, then looked up, at the jagged bit of metal holding him in place. 

There was a slight ridge beneath him for him to keep his feet on for balance, and as he freed himself and did so, he took in his surroundings for the first time. 

He had been falling along the side of a strangely designed building. It was metallic, seemingly made of thousands of jagged pieces of metal all bound together. It was in the shape of a pyramid, with its tip emanating that same column of dark energy that Chan had seen near the pagoda only moments before. 

He looked around him, and the landscape was deathly. There was no sun, just darkness and rolling black clouds across barren land that ran on for miles. The earth itself was blackened, with pools of what looked like dark liquid in the distance, like tar. 

Thunder rumbled overhead, but there was no lightening. Wisps of black mist emanated from the dry, dead earth, curling around strange, withered trees with huge branches that looked like bony fingers. 

Chan slowly lowered himself down the side of the building, careful to not fall or slip or to hurt himself on the sharp edges. He finally made it low enough where he could jump on to the land. 

Once he did, he looked up at the metallic pyramid with its spire of black mist reaching to the sky, and his heart fell as he saw something else.

An insignia on the front of the building, one he'd seen before on the armour of the shadow soldiers. 

The horrifying realization crept in as Chan figured out where he was. 

"Erebus."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Du du DUN
> 
> Chan is now trapped within the ancient kingdom of Erebus itself. How did he get there? Why are they all scattered in different places?


	18. Chapter 18 - Krios Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was majorly disoriented, confused as to how he had suddenly teleported somewhere completely different. He looked down, and saw that the rings of symbols were still on the ground, except now they were glowing alot brighter, and they seemed inverted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally get an inside look as to what exactly happened to the Kings, and where they went - not to mention how serious their situation is.

Seungmin awoke, finding himself on solid earth, and for a moment, he was confused and disoriented. 

As he propped himself up, he remembered everything that had happened earlier. He stood up, finding no chains on him, he was seemingly just fine, but he had lost his weapon.

It was only then that he looked around and took his surroundings in. 

He definitely wasn't in Krios anymore.

For as far as he could see, he was standing on dry earth and soil, nothing else, no buildings, no people, no plants, nothing.

But it was what was above him in the sky that had caught his attention.

There were six horizontal bars of light in the sky, reaching up for as far as he could see. There were moving images in each bar, and in a way it was almost as if each strip of energy was warping reality itself.

Seungmin took a closer look, and could see that each bar of light showed a scenery, something that seemed to be happening at that very moment. 

With a start he recognized Tavros in one, he could see Vekten's General Changbin taking care of matters of the kingdom, he could see his citizens and the daily bustling of the land and he was relieved that they were all ok. 

It was with that that he realised these were almost like mirrors looking into the other lands. In one, he saw Krios - empty and barren, just like how it had been when they arrived. He was shocked to find he couldnt see any of the others, had the same thing happened to them? Had they also ended up....somewhere?

He saw what he thought was Vekten in other bar of energy, with its fur clad people and open landscape. In another, he saw what must've been the United Tribes of Verseau, but strangely enough, he didn't see Lord Jeongin running the kingdom, instead, someone else had taken over for him.

He frowned, that wasn't normal. It didn't look like there was a problem in Verseau, but the only time Lord Jeongin ever had a stand-in monarch was if he left his nation for something. 

He then looked at a strip of light that had to be Parthenos, and that showed the most interesting detail of all. He saw the Queen, along with another person who looked like the general of the Kingdom's army and a man who looked like a mage in the middle of a serious discussion.

To his surprise, he saw that the discussion was with two of the members of Krios's army, who looked pretty battered up- and the King of Krios himself! 

Seungmin tried to make sense of it, but he couldn't. There wasn't a soul in Krios, were they all in Parthenos then? What was the king doing there? Why wasn't Seungmin told any of this?

But at the same time as his mind raced, his heart flipped over, filling him with a quiet elation and a deep sense of relief, strong enough to elicit a sigh and a smile at seeing the familiar King's face. 

He was alive. 

Hia attention was torn away by the last mirror, mainly because of Seungmin's curiosity and a gnawing feeling in his gut that told him something was wrong.

There were only 5 kingdoms, of which all were quite clear here, so what was this last one?

The final sliver of abstract reality was one of a dark and desolate landscape with severe metallic architecture in its buildings. It didn't look like any of the other kingdoms, or anything that Seungmin had encountered before at all. Sure, Krios was in a bad shape but even that wasn't as....ominous....as this was.

In horror, he recognized the insignia on one of the buildings, and everything about the violent architecture and dreadful scenery began to make sense.

He saw a figure there though, a person. Chan?!

How did Chan end up in Erebus? And where was Felix? 

And where the hell had Seungmin ended up?

\--

Felix looked around in horror, terrified that he was now alone. Where was Chan? Would there be any way to find him?

Felix turned back around to look behind him, and as he did, the entire scenery shifted. Felix wasn't in the town square of Krios anymore, but now he was right in front of some kind of pagoda.

He was majorly disoriented, confused as to how he had suddenly teleported somewhere completely different. He looked down, and saw that the rings of symbols were still on the ground, except now they were glowing alot brighter, and they seemed inverted.

Felix frowned, how did that happen? He looked up at the pagoda, wondering if maybe he'd find some answers in there. Before he entered, he noticed a symbol embellished on the front. It too, was inverted. 

Felix stood there for a few seconds, studying it, then compared it to one of the symbols on the ground. He then recognized the pagoda's symbol to be an inverted symbol of Aries; Krios's patron constellation.

It was a more modernized version of the more ancient symbol of Aries that Felix saw in the stone on the ground, and he figured that somehow, if he was in front of a Kriotian pagoda, he was still in Krios, but everything felt oddly.....backwards, something just didnt feel right. 

It was then that Felix noticed the stars. There were 5 constellations in the sky to be exact, and having studied the stars his whole life, it wasn't hard to identify them.

The five constellations were those of the five kingdoms, Virgo, Libra, Aries, Taurus and Aquarius, but something wasn't right about them.

Then it hit him, the constellations looked like they were upside down. Felix's eyes flitted between the inverse symbols on the ground, the inverse symbol of Aries on the pagoda, and the upside down constellations.

He also noticed another thing, despite being upside down, each constellation was perfectly aligned with each other, almost like all 5 had become one. 

Just like it had on the day of his birth.

Just like it had on the day Erebus was imprisoned under the seal.

The dark reality then hit Felix as he remembered what Seungmin had said about the stars.

"Erebus didn't just break through the seal," Felix muttered softly to himself as the realisation dawned on him.

Now it made sense why his powers were gone, why Krios was a ghost town.

"They reversed it on to us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Chan is trapped in Erebus, Seungmin exists in some middle space between reality, and Felix figured out that they're all trapped beneath the original Seal. 
> 
> Erebus may be evil but gotta say, they're smart.


	19. Chapter 19 - The King of Krios

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The magic of Erebus has poisoned your Kingdom, turning it into a gateway into The Rift, where they are now trapped."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And sometimes help comes from unexpected places :3

It had been a relief when Parthenos had heard that Krios's armies had been ambushed, and while the news did come through that it was this same dark, mysterious army, they did not take on an offensive stance.

They continued to keep their defences up, aware that they might come under attack from whatever this mysterious army was, and the Queen had decided it was best to leave the Prince in Vekten since they were still under threat, and now by an even worse army.

It had been about a month since the attack on Parthenos had been averted when the Queen was alerted that there was a small army approaching, but they were approaching sluggishly and appeared to be severely injured.

The Queen had rounded up General Minho, Mage Han and Sage Ryune as they waited on this army. When the army finally did arrive, they saw that indeed, its numbers were severely low, and almost all of them were badly injured, in need of dire medical attention. 

The army was led by the King of Krios and two of his Commanders, who lay down their weapons and fell to their knees in front of the great shields of Parthenos, as a mark that they were coming in peace and surrender. 

Minho made a move towards the shields, sensing that the army, Krios's army as it seemed, needed help, but Han caught his arm. 

"What if it's a trap?"

"A trap? With THAT army? They'd be lucky if they could manage to move another 3 feet, it's highly unlikely."

"They have not come to attack," the Queen agreed. "If Parthenos is anything it is a kingdom of peace and forgiveness. And they seem to need help." The trio stepped out of the protective shield towards the army.

The king bowed deeply to the Queen. He himself was badly injured, and struggling to stand. 

He began to speak but the Queen held up a hand to stop him. "Your people," she said gently, "are in desperate need of treatment. I understand you came under attack from an army of ancient power, the same enemy that attacked Tavros, the same enemy we may face."

She opened the shield enough for the army to pass through. "My healers will see to your army's injuries, and your own, after which, we will need to talk." 

The king bowed gratefully, and they were escorted inside the kingdom to be treated, leaving their weapons outside to further cement that they truly meant no harm. 

*Current day in Parthenos*

It took a full two weeks for the army of Krios to recover. Their injuries, while quite severe on their own, were worsened by the fact that they were brought on by more than just weapons. There was a kind of dark, ancient magic attached as well.

Once the King was significantly better, the Queen held a meeting with him, General Minho, Mage Han and Sage Ryune.

The King entered the chamber, bowing to the table. 

"King Hyunjin," the Queen greeted as they bowed back. "I trust you feel better."

"Much, thank you, your Highness." He sat down, clearing his throat, barely able to look at the people around the table. 

"I cannot begin to express my gratitude for your kindness, and your forgiveness, Queen Euridicia. You could have very easily struck us down where he stood when we came to your kingdom for help. I would not have blamed you. As a warring kingdom ourselves," the King looked somewhat ashamed, "I must admit, I'm not sure if we would've done the same."

The Queen smiled. "We are a pacifist kingdom, King Hyunjin. We understand the misinformation and the circumstances. Terrible decision to attack us really, but I believe you were acting in the best interest of Tavros. The army that seized them, did after all use our name."

The King nodded meekly. "Once again, I apologize." 

"It is done," the Queen said. "Let us move on. Tell us how you came to be here."

King Hyunjin took in a deep breath. "When we first heard of the attack of Tavros, with the army claiming they were from here, we declared war and readied ourselves to march to Parthenos.

On our way, we were ambushed by an army so evil, so powerful, that my soldiers barely stood a chance." He paused. "Many of my soldiers were lost in the attack, the rest, severely injured. We returned to Krios, only to find, that the kingdom was gone, your Highness."

"Gone?" Minho echoed, frowning. 

Hyunjin nodded at him. "When we reached, it was desolate, like a kingdom that had been empty for years. Not a sound could be heard, not a soul could be seen, it looked like the whole kingdom had been destroyed in just two days since we had left."

"So it was all a trick," Minho observed. "First Tavros was attacked, then your entire army was driven out of your kingdom, only to be ambushed while your kingdom was attacked at its most vulnerable." Minho leaned back in his seat thoughtfully, his brain quickly picking apart the battle strategy. "A dual attack."

The king looked down, crestfallen. "Its much worse than that, General Minho. When we entered the city to investigate, to find some indication of life, my soldiers seemed to just....disappear, into thin air, right before my eyes. It was as if the kingdom was under a spell."

Sage Ryune frowned, deep in thought. "And there were no attacks?" they asked. 

"None. They just disappeared," the king answered before continuing. "With more of my army lost that day, we needed to find refuge. We decided we had no choice, we had to go to Tavros. At that point we were still under the impression that it was Parthenos that had attacked.

Days later when we arrived, we found that it was the last thing from Tavros. It was that same Dark Army that had attacked us before. Soldiers and demons that were straight out of a nightmare. They all bore this symbol; an insignia that seemed familiar, but it didn't belong to any of the kingdoms."

Hyunjin took a piece of paper and ink, and drew the insignia on it, the convex 'H' with a vertical line intersecting the middle and a circle at the bottom. 

When he showed the table, Han and Ryune's eyes grew wide, and they shared a look with each other.

"You recognize it," Hyunjin observed. 

Han nodded. "That's the insignia of Erebus." 

For the first time, the Queen looked stricken. "Erebus?" She asked, looking between them. "But that's impossible! The kingdom was imprisoned a thousand years ago."

"The seal must've broken somehow," Han told her. "It makes sense now, how we sensed dark, ancient magic, how the kingdoms have been attacked one by one, Erebus seeks revenge."

"This is far more serious than we thought," the Queen said. "If Erebus is free, it's a threat to all of us."

"I wouldn't have thought it was Erebus," Hyunjin mused, "I may not know as much as your mages do about that kingdom," he glanced at the Queen, "but I have heard the legends."

He turned to Han, "You're positive this is the Dark Army of Erebus? It couldn't be something else?"

Han nodded. "Magic is difficult to imitate, your highness. Mine would not be the same as yours, therefore I would not be able to imitate your magic. A magic as dark and ancient as that of Erebus is not something that anyone else can create."

The two monarchs in the room shared a look. "In that case," Hyunjin said carefully. "The war has only just begun."

Minho addressed the Queen, "Should we bring Prince Felix back, your Highness?" 

The Queen nodded. "I'm afraid so. If all the kingdoms are going to be attacked, Felix won't be safe anywhere."

Sage Ryune nodded, their brow furrowed as they pressed their hands together, gentle wisps of white light glowing from between their enclosed palms and slightly from beneath their eyelids. With the power of divinity, they were able to determine exactly where Felix was in Vekten, to send a message to return as soon as possible.

But then Ryune jerked back, their eyes shooting open as their head titled back towards the ceiling, eyes unfocused, looking at nothing in particular. 

The Sage was glassy eyed for a few moments, before blinking and returning to normal. "Your Majesty," they addressed the Queen. "The Prince is not in Vekten."

"What?" Euridicia, Minho and Han collectively exclaimed.

"He, along with Chief Chan and King Seungmin, are trapped in a land between reality and existence, beneath the seal, where Erebus was first imprisoned a thousand years ago."

They paused, allowing the group to digest what they were saying. "It is known as The Rift. It appears that after Erebus broke through the seal, they found a way to reverse it."

Silence fell across the table. 

"Wait hold on," Minho spread his arms across the table and shook his head, scrunching up his eyes as he tried to make sense of all of this. "They are WHERE now? The Rift? How the hell did they even end up there? Vekten was supposed to be safe!"

Sage Ryune shook their head. "Not Vekten, they-"

"Wait, King Seungmin?" Hyunjin interrupted, perking up. "King Seungmin is okay?"

The Sage calmly tried again to explain. "The three of them-"

"Wait if Felix and Chief Chan were in Vekten, where did King Seungmin come from? He's all the way in Tavros!"

Ryune calmly turned towards Queen Euridicia, who was equally as confused but understood the Sage's silent plea. "Sage Ryune is attempting to enlighten us all on the matter, if they could have some silence, please," she said as politely as possible. 

Minho leaned back in his seat, Hyunjin leaned forward even more, worry bunching up around his brows as he started twisting a metal band around his left hand finger.

"It appears," the Sage began slowly, "that Chief Chan and Prince Felix had travelled to Krios, alongside King Seungmin. There is strong magical instability in Krios, it is probably the very source of The Rift."

They turned to Hyunjin. "You did say that your Kingdom appeared deserted, yes?"

The King nodded, and the Sage's expression indicated that he had affirmed his own suspicions.

"The magic of Erebus has poisoned your Kingdom, turning it into a gateway into The Rift, where they are now trapped."

"Then we need to get them out," Han spoke up for the first time since the Sage had started explaining. 

"How?" Hyunjin asked, worried, but hopeful.

Han looked at Sage Ryune; both of them were thinking along the same lines. "The ancient scrolls," he said. 

"We will have to work fast," the Sage replied, "for they are trapped beneath a seal that the First Monarchs themselves had created."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have King Hyunjin finally making his appearance! So looks like our three men might have a chance at getting out of The Rift, leads you to wonder what may have happened if Hyunjin never made it to Parthenos in the first place.
> 
> Thank you for reading, as always! Drop a kudos if you're enjoying the story, and drop a comment with your thoughts and theories; they're always a pleasure to read!


	20. Chapter 20 - Love in the Darkest of Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What would you have done if someone you loved was attacked, out of the blue?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> General Minho and King Hyunjin get closer, and maybe it's finally unveiled why the King declared war on Parthenos in such a fervent bout of anger.

Sage Ryune got to work immediately with the rest of the Seers to divine how the men got into the Rift, and how they could get them out, and potentially save Krios as well. 

The Seers spent hours meditating, and were to be left undisturbed until they had fully understood what they were dealing with. 

Han had rallied the mages to gather all the ancient scrolls, including the ones with forbidden magic in them, to study them thoroughly to find if there was a gateway they could possibly open to get into the space between worlds. 

King Hyunjin was jumpy, anxious. He had given up hope for his kingdom, and for Seungmin, as much as it hurt him to do so. He still didn't want to allow himself to believe that there might be a solution, he didn't want to break his heart twice.

The first time he had seen Tavros, it was completely overrun with a darkness that was otherworldly, something he and his army could not even hope to defeat; not on their own anyway, and definitely not after they had already been attacked. 

He had wondered what it looked like within the kingdom, was it like Krios? Empty and deserted? The ghost of a memory of a kingdom that once existed?

If the citizens were gone, was the King gone too?

Minho had noticed his behaviour, and could tell that there were emotions welling to the surface in the otherwise stoic, battle-ready king. 

He saw him sitting out alone in the courtyard, staring down at his hands and constantly twisting a ring on his left hand over and over again, and approached him slowly.

"Your Majesty," he began, and the King looked up at him with a start, trying to blink away the tears that had been forming in his eyes.

"Yes, General Minho?" He replied, trying to regain a serious tone of voice. 

But Minho knew that the king was fearing for his people and his kingdom, and mourning the loss of his army. Something told him that King Seungmin held a special place in his heart as well. 

"Our Seers and Mages are doing everything they can to find out more about where King Seungmin is, and the realm where your kingdom lies." He bowed. "Hopefully, we will have a breakthrough soon."

Hyunjin nodded, still absently twisting the ring on his left hand finger. It wasn't until he saw that Minho had noticed that he himself realised that he had been picking at it all day. 

Hyunjin smiled weakly. "General Minho," he began, "is there a person special to you, who you would go to war for?"

Minho's stomach flipped over as the image of Han flashed through his mind instantly. It felt like a million butterflies raged through his chest as he stumbled through his answer. 

"Yes....yes, your Majesty."

The King nodded, beckoning Minho to take the sit next to him, and Minho obliged. 

"The whole reason, General, that I declared war on your kingdom, was because I care for Tavros, its people, and especially its King, as deeply as I care for my own.

When the Dark Army had tricked us using your name in the conquest of Tavros, I was furious, unable to quite believe that a kingdom like Parthenos would ever attack."

He paused, looking at Minho. "What would you have done if someone you loved was attacked, out of the blue?"

Minho's heart lurched, unable to even bear the thought of Han ever being in harm's way. "I don't think I'd be able to show mercy, King Hyunjin."

The King nodded, looking down again at the ring on his hand, and all at once, Minho understood what he was saying. 

"King Seungmin and I are....were," he shook his head, not sure whether to use past or present tense. 

"We're engaged, General Minho. By next Spring, we were to be married, thus uniting our two Kingdoms as one as well."

Hyunjin smiled as he thought fondly of his fiancé, and Minho couldn't help but smile too. He would never have imagined the King of Krios, one of the most feared kingdoms, to be a romantic. 

"Which is why I reacted as rashly as I did. Your Queen, and all of you say you forgive me but...."

Minho comfortingly lay a hand of King Hyunjin's shoulder. "I understand, your Majesty, we all do. Now that you've said that you and King Seungmin are engaged, I understand even more. I couldn't imagine what I would have done if the one I loved was in danger."

Hyunjin smiled, "The Mage, yes? Han?"

Minho blushed a violent red. "How did you-"

The King laughed. "It isn't hard to see, I know what the look of love looks like, General Minho, how you both look at one another." 

"Wait, Han looks at me that way too?" Minho had completely abandoned all formalities now, did Han actually feel the same way?

"You can't seriously be saying you haven't noticed. So the mage doesn't know you're in love with him?"

Minho blushed again. "I thought of waiting until the war was over."

Hyunjin shook his head, his expression now serious. "Don't wait, General. You never know what tomorrow may bring. I think that's one thing that we've all learnt."

At that very moment, Han came running out into the courtyard, barely noticing the conversation. "Your Majesty, Minho, come to the Seers' Temple, we've found a way into the Rift."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The kings are ENGAGED sksjsjdbn  
> I loved making King Seungmin and Hyunjin a couple, and an established one at that.  
> The whole idea just came very naturally to me, the intelligent, calm King Seungmin and the 'warring' King Hyunjin, who was actually a real softie for his lover deep down.  
> Maybe after In Love and War I'll do a spinoff short story about their love affair, let me know if you'd like to see it!


	21. Chapter 21 - The Rift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hold on," Hyunjin intervened. "What if you destroy the Seal and my people are permanently trapped? What if it backfires?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> King Hyunjin, General Minho and Mage Han have a rescue mission on their hands.

Minho and Hyunjin got to the temple as fast as they could, where both the Council of Seers and the Circle of Mages had already gathered, along with the Queen.

The temple was a large, open air, alabaster structure tucked away amidst the great gardens of Parthenos. It was a striking building, with its tall pillars arranged in a circular structure, supporting a high domed ceiling.

When they finally reached, Sage Ryune stepped forward to explain what they had learnt. 

"We have found that the Prince, the Chief and the King are all safe and alive, albeit in a parallel realm from our own," the Sage began.

They then turned to King Hyunjin. "We've also found that your entire kingdom is also alive, your Majesty, trapped in the Rift as well." They managed a small smile. "You can rest easy, your kingdom is not lost."

Hyunjin heaved a huge sigh of relief, it was the best news he had heard in over a month. 

"The Rift has four main layers," Sage Ryune continued. "Prince Felix is trapped on the first, and he should be the easiest to reach, as the veil between our reality and his is the thinnest.

Chief Chan is trapped on the third layer, he is trapped in Erebus itself, the old kingdom that has now been abandoned in the Rift.

King Seungmin lies between the balance of both, a space between the worlds where neither time nor reality truly exists.

The rest of the citizens of Krios, including some of your soldiers whom the King said disappeared, and some of Tavros' soldiers as well, lie in the fourth and final layer of the Rift."

Minho frowned. "How did Tavros' soldiers get there?"

"It appears that the physical kingdom of Krios is the opening to the Ancient Seal of the First Monarchs." The Sage replied. "The three rulers, along with a few of Tavros's soldiers, had gone to Krios to check on the Kingdom."

"So Tavros is not under siege anymore?" Hyunjin asked. 

"No," Ryune replied, "it would appear that our Prince had somehow liberated them."

There was an impressed, but stunned silence that fell across the room. "How?" The Queen finally asked. 

"He, along with Chief Chan and a band of Vektenian soldiers had rid Tavros of the Dark Army that was plaguing it." Sage Ryune answered. 

Minho couldnt help but smirk. He should've known that Felix's hero complex would get the better of him, and that he would somehow convince the Chief to join him. How they managed to defeat the Dark Army laying siege over an entire kingdom was beyond him, but that was a question for another day. 

But right now, they had no time to waste. The Sage bowed towards Han, inviting him to explain the magic behind their intended rescue mission. 

"We can get them out of the Rift," Han explained, "but to free the entire kingdom as well, we're going to have to destroy two cardinal points of the seal; the seal's Physical Centre of magic, as well as its Source."

"And where are those?" Minho asked. 

"The Physical Seal is in Krios itself, we're not sure what exactly it is yet but it shouldn't be hard to find, all we need to do is find wherever the highest concentration of dark magic is."

"The Palace," the King answered. "When I went back to Krios, I saw columns of black energy around the main palace, that has to be it."

"Then what's the Source?" Minho turned to Han again.

"The Source is in Erebus itself. If you're saying there are columns of black energy, it's coming straight from Erebus itself, where Chan is."

"So we'll need to go in and get them first, right?" Minho had already started strategizing. 

Han nodded. 

"Ok. So we get them, and whoever goes to Chan will have to help him destroy the source, and whoever goes to Felix will be able to find and destroy the Physical Centre, since Felix is the closest to our reality, correct?"

"Yes."

"And once that's done, everyone would be safe back in Krios?"

"Exactly."

"Hold on," Hyunjin intervened. "What if you destroy the Seal and my people are permanently trapped? What if it backfires?"

"It won't," Han assured him. "We are destroying the Seal itself, not any of the worlds beneath it."

"So I'm assuming now that we're going to have to go to Krios?" Minho asked. "That's days away."

"Not exactly," Han told them, "we found a spell, an ancient one, that can get us into whatever layer of the Rift we need to reach. Each of us will need to go to one. I'll go to Felix because I can cast the spell to get us in and out of the Rift-"

"I'll go to Seungmin." Hyunjin said immediately, without missing a beat. "But how would we get back? Neither one of us are capable of sorcery."

"You're going to have to trust us." Minho told him. "Once both ends of the Seal are destroyed, you'll return to Krios, along with the rest of your people."

Hyunjin held Minho's gaze for a few beats, knowing that trust was something too soon to be formed, but he had no other choose. He nodded. "Alright. What are we waiting for then? Let's go."

*

Han gestured for the Seers to give him space, and for the rest of them to step back as he led the mages through the spells to open the three layers of the Rift. 

They chanted the incantations on the ancient scrolls, vertical rings of blue light starting to flicker in the air in the otherwise dark temple, lit only by a few lamps. 

Han was deep in concentration, his effort quite visible on his face as he closed his eyes and forced more magic into the spell. Finally the ring of blue magic widened, and as the rest of the audience peered in, they couldn't really see a solid image.

It was like static, except with occasional bursts of colour, as if reality itself was glitching within the portal that Han had opened. The other mages stopped their incantation, and as they did, the floor beneath them lit up with bright blue energy, travelling like bolts of lightning from each individual mage to the portal opening in the middle of the room.

As the magic shot to the portal, Han brought his hands up together in front of him, then pushed them each in separate directions, as if he was pulling on opposite ends of an invisible rope in his hands. 

With that gesture, the magic around the portal stopped pulsating. Slowly, Han brought one hand down, as if slicing the air in front of him. He then flicked his wrist to the right, where the blue portal duplicated, only this time the magic surrounding it was white.

Immediately after, he flicked his wrist to the left, duplicating the portal again, this time with a ring of black magic surrounding it. He turned to face Minho and Hyunjin. 

"The black portal leads to Erebus, Minho, you go through that one. Once you find Chan, destroy the source of the Seal. 

King Hyunjin, the blue portal leads to King Seungmin. If the portal stays open long enough, you can come through it, back here. If not, the both of you will end up back in Krios once we destroy the Seal."

Both Hyunjin and Minho nodded. The trio bowed to the Queen before stepping through the portals on their respective missions. 

~

It didn't seem as if time existed in these alternate worlds, and Seungmin had been watching the happenings of each of the kingdoms through the bars of light in the sky. 

He had seen Hyunjin in Parthenos, and his heart had lit up. Hyunjin was safe, he was alive, just knowing that was enough for Seungmin. Seeing Krios in the state it was in had made him fear the very worst. 

He had seen some strange, magical ritual happening in Parthenos. Three portals had been opened, one of which Hyunjin had stepped into. 

Suddenly the images in the sky blurred, glitching as if something was wrong. There was a burst of light so strong that Seungmin had to shield his eyes. 

When he looked up, he saw a familiar figure in the distance, looking around the barren landscape in confusion. 

Hyunjin, it was Hyunjin. 

Seungmin's heart started racing. He stood up wordlessly, first walking, then running towards the other King. 

"Hyunjin!" Seungmin shouted as he ran. 

The King turned around, seeing Seungmin for the first time in over one, ghastly month. His face lit up like it never had before as he ran up to the other King, wrapping his arms around him, cradling his head as he buried his face in the crook of Seungmin's shoulder. 

"You're ok," his voice was muffled as tears stung his eyes. "You're really ok."

He pulled away, holding Seungmin's face and staring into his equally tearful eyes as the tears rolled down both their faces. 

"Hyunjin, I saw your kingdom....I thought the worst, I really did. I was terrified for you."

"So was I," Hyunjin tried to smile through his tears, wiping Seungmin's eyes and cheeks and holding his face in his hands. "We were attacked by Erebus too, gosh Seungmin I saw your kingdom, I really thought-"

He choked up, sobs escaping his throat. 

"I really thought-"

"Baby no, it's ok," Seungmin said comfortingly, kissing his fiancé's cheek. Only he knew how much of a softie the 'warlord king' really was. 

Hyunjin took a deep breath, calming down as he gazed at the King in his arms. He finally allowed himself to be comforted, to be relieved. 

Seungmin smiled into his eyes, cupping Hyunjin's face and pulling him in for a kiss. 

Hyunjin wrapped his arms around Seungmin's waist, kissing him with more love and passion than he ever had before. 

They gently pulled away, taking each other's hands in their own as they each left little pecks on the other's forehead and cheeks. 

"I love you," Seungmin said as he kissed Hyunjin's forehead. 

"I love you too," Hyunjin replied with warmth, snuggling back into his fiancé's arms, confident that whatever happened now, they could deal with it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there we have it! The trio is getting the other kings out of the Rift! Did you guess that King Hyunjin would be the catalyst to that happening?  
> Also here's a little bit more of Seungjin fluff, they have a very cute relationship through this whole thing :3


	22. Chapter 22 - Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clouds of pulsing black waves of magic coalesced in the air above them like one singular mass of darkness, writhing as if it was alive. It pulsed softly at first, like a heart, and as they watched, the pulse within seemed to grow stronger, and instinctively, they knew that the mass of magic was going to explode.

Felix had looked for every possible means of escape from.....he actually didnt even know where he was. All he knew was that the Seal had been reversed and he had been imprisoned under it. Over the time he spent there, he had come to realise that everyone who had disappeared earlier in Krios, had probably stepped into this parallel world. 

But then where were they? Why was he alone? He wondered though the palace, through this mirrored version of Krios, hoping to find an answer. 

Felix was on the verge of panic and on the verge of giving up with the glowing symbols on the ground seemed to start glowing brighter, until it was too bright to look at them.

Felix turned away until the light faded, and when he looked back, he saw the last person he would've ever expected to see. 

"Han?!" He ran and tackled the mage in a hug. "What are you doing here? How did you find me? Where am I exactly?"

"Its a long story, but we managed to figure out that you're trapped beneath the Seal along with Seungmin, Chan and the rest of the Kriotians."

"What? Then where are they?" 

"On different layers of this parallel dimension, called the Rift. We found a way to save everyone Felix, but we need to go back to Krios now."

Felix still had a bunch of questions, but he just nodded. Han performed a spell, opening up a portal which he and Felix jumped through. 

The two of them ended back in Krios, the usual one, not the mirrored one Felix had been in all this time. Felix was right outside the same spot that he had been in before, outside the Pagoda. For a moment he thought that the spell hadn't worked, but then he saw tall columns of swirling dark magic all around the Palace, and that hadn't been there earlier. 

"We need to destroy the sources of that magic," Han told him. "That's the physical centre of the Seal." 

Felix saw that the energy was being emanated from the ground itself. He took his spear and plunged the tip straight into the earth at the base of the column. 

For a moment, nothing happened, but then the earth around them cracked and shook violently, causing both Han and Felix to fall back. The black mists seem to swirl out of control in a writhing black cloud, before evaporating into the air. 

The mild earthquake stopped, and it appeared that Felix was successful. There were 3 more columns of magic, and he repeated the process with each one. Every time he struck the ground, the earth shook, and each time it was more violent than before. 

Felix broke the final part of the physical Seal, cracking open the magic of the fourth and final column of dark magic.

Clouds of pulsing black waves of magic coalesced in the air above them like one singular mass of darkness, writhing as if it was alive. It pulsed softly at first, like a heart, and as they watched, the pulse within seemed to grow stronger, and instinctively, they knew that the mass of magic was going to explode.

Han and Felix cowered as the writhing shadows exploded into chaos, a singular dark shockwave of energy ripping through the kingdom. 

Then there was silence, and it felt as if a great heaviness had been lifted. It was as if the air itself had been rid from impurity and was now safe to breathe. They hadn't even realised it earlier, but moving through the city had been akin to moving through water; sluggish movements slowed by resistance. 

Now, with the Centre of the Seal destroyed, there was a sense of lightness in their step, as if they were moving unshackled. 

But that being said, they were still alone in the kingdom, there was no sign of any of the others, or any of the citizens either.

Felix turned worriedly to Han, after a few moments of expectant silence, hoping that something would magically change and prove that they had made a tangible difference to the fate of the others.

"Han," he began, a pang of worry spreading through his stomach, "why isn't anything happening?"

Han shrugged matter of factly, "Chan and Minho aren't done yet in Erebus."

"Erebus?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 down, 1 to go.


	23. Chapter 23 - Reunions Pt II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chan had been exploring the dark, barren landscape, trying his best to figure a way out of this place. For as far as he could see, the landscape was drab and grey and desolate. There was an odd smell that hung in the air, it was musty, like the smell of stagnant water mixed with stale smoke.

Chan had been exploring the dark, barren landscape, trying his best to figure a way out of this place. For as far as he could see, the landscape was drab and grey and desolate. There was an odd smell that hung in the air, it was musty, like the smell of stagnant water mixed with stale smoke. 

Chan figured that Krios had acted as a gateway into Erebus, but couldn't fully figure out why he was alone here. He had seen the way Felix and Seungmin disappeared- if Krios was a gateway into Erebus, shouldn't they be here with him?

There was a bright flash behind him, and in such a shadowy domain, it was a major contrast. Chan saw the beams of light stretch out before him and he turned around to see what it was, drawing a sword just in case.

"General Minho?" Chan recognized the man from their first meeting in Parthenos. 

The General had remembered the warrior's salute and greeted Chan with it, who returned the favour, but was still stunned. 

"I have....many questions," Chan began. "How did you find me?"

"Well, long story short," Minho started, "The King of Krios is alive along with some of his army. He came to us, battered and bruised, and we pieced enough information together to figure out that you, the Prince and King Seungmin were trapped here," Minho gestured around him, "in the Rift."

Chan wasn't entirely sure what that was but he just nodded along anyway. "So how do I leave?" 

"There's supposed to be some sort of source of evil magic here," Minho said looking around, "we're supposed to find it and destroy it."

Chan blankly pointed behind Minho at the giant swirling mass of black energy emanating from the top of the giant metal pyramid that somehow, Minho hadn't seen.

"It's right there."

Minho turned around to look. "Oh."

"Ok so....how exactly do we destroy it?" Chan asked. "My powers don't work here."

Minho shrugged. "Well I suppose we're going to have to figure it out then. My best guess is we get to the top of the pyramid and destroy the centre." 

Chan groaned. He'd gotten down from there only a little while ago, now he had to climb back up.

The two of them walked back towards the pyramid, and Minho studied the structure. With all the ragged metal edges jutting out, it wasn't going to be an easy climb. 

Chan ripped off a bit of material from his already tattered sleeves and wrapped it around his palms to prevent any further injury, and Minho followed suit.

They began their ascent of the pyramid, and finally struggled to the top. Chan and Minho both pulled out their swords as they faced the stream of black energy from the very centre. 

The magic was strong, the force of it almost knocking Minho and Chan backwards as they both pulled their swords out, poised with their weapons hovering over the swirling mass of energy.

Minho looked over at Chan and nodded in silent communication.

"On the count of three. One, two," and on three they both brought their blades down on the centre of the spire of magic. For a second, nothing happened, but then the entire pyramid itself exploded with magic, throwing them off.

The last thing Chan registered was a bright flash, after which he realised it took an unexpectedly long time for him to hit the ground, but once he did, and once the disorientation left him, he heard voices all around him.

He groaned, opening his eyes and slowly lifting himself off the ground. Minho was next to him, and they were back in Krios.

All around them were the citizens of the kingdom, safely brought back. They were laughing, crying, hugging- families were reunited, friends found each other again, couples threw themselves into each other's arms. 

Chan turned to Minho, "looks like we did it." Minho grinned, clasping Chan's hand. "Why do I feel like this isn't the first kingdom you've gone around saving?"

Chan laughed. "Believe me, your Prince does most of the saving." With that, he scanned the crowds for Felix, not seeing him anywhere. "Speaking of, you said Felix was trapped in the Rift too, right?"

Minho nodded. "He's fine, Chief, our leading Mage went to save him." 

Chan breathed a sigh of relief, and both of started absently scanning the crowds for their respective men. 

Chan finally saw Felix near the entrance of the Pagoda, which wasn't too far away, and was overjoyed that he was alright. Lost in his thoughts, he left Minho and made it through the crowds to Felix. 

Felix had been looking for Chan too, and when he finally made eye contact with him as he waded through the crowds, Felix pretty much ran to him, a huge smile brightening up his face. 

When they finally reached each other, Felix threw himself into Chan's arms, who wrapped him up in a tight hug. "I was so worried about you," Chan's voice was muffled against Felix's shoulder.

Felix had buried his head into the crook of Chan's neck, giving him a kiss along his jawline before pulling away to face him. 

"Are you hurt?" He asked, before his eyes caught the small injuries along Chan's arms and hands. 

He ran his hands up Chan's forearms, little sparks of green magic dancing along his fingers and healing Chan's wounds. 

Chan gazed at Felix with adoration as the Prince healed him, and once he was done, Felix traced his fingers back down Chan's arms, locking his fingers between his. 

Chan felt shivers run across his body at Felix's soft touch, pulling the man closer to him as he stared into his twinkling eyes. 

All around them were happy people and happy couples, Chan had noticed even King Seungmin and King Hyunjin looking pretty cosy. Despite everything that had led up to this, there was so much love in the air that night. 

"Didn't I tell you that your prophecy meant something good?" Chan's voice was low as he leaned his forehead against Felix's, both of them wrapping their arms around the other's waist. 

"I couldn't have done any of it without you, Channie," Felix told him, and he meant it. 

"You still would've, my love." Chan replied.

Felix's heart jumped at hearing Chan calling him that. He couldn't help but smile and blush, and Chan must've noticed, because he laughed and kissed Felix's blushing cheeks. 

"You blush so much that I can't remember the last time you weren't red," Chan teased, whispering into his ear. 

Felix laughed, playfully shoving him. Chan caught his hands and pulled him in again, smiling as he took took Felix's face between his hands, his heart skipping a beat as he looked at the literal embodiment of sunshine in his arms. 

He leaned forward, kissing Felix first on his forehead, then the tip of his nose, and finally, his lips. 

Felix wrapped his arms around Chan's neck as he leaned into him, kissing him back warmly.

From afar, Minho had been scanning the crowd for Han, and had seen Chan and Felix running up to each other and hugging.  
He smiled to himself, he would've never imagined the two of them would ever get along. 

He almost choked on air when he saw them kissing- when did THAT happen? The last he remembered was the cutting attitude that Felix had given Chan when he first came to Parthenos.

Well this sure was a turn of events.

He laughed to himself, as unexpected as it was, he was beyond happy for Felix. The two of them suited one another, and Minho knew that Felix was safe with Chan. 

Almost like fate, he thought, as he looked away from the happy couple, his eyes falling on the man in the crowd that his own heart yearned for. He laughed when he saw that Han had noticed the exact same thing that he had, and the wide-eyed look of surprise on his face was priceless. 

Minho remembered King Hyunjin's words to him about telling Han how he felt. He started walking towards the Mage; would today be the day he would confess?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And a little bit of ✨love✨ and fluff in this chapter too! Writing the reunions was so much fun because they all really are crazy about each other. Next chapter is gonna pull at your heartstrings!


	24. Chapter 24 - Reunions Pt III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Well first, I was scared of the war. I was scared of going into battle, I was scared to see you out there on the battlefield. I was scared and worried for you.

Minho could feel his heart in his throat, pounding with nervousness as he picked his way through the crowd to get to Han. 

He looked over at the two Kings, their hands interlocked, standing at the front of the Pagoda deep in conversation. They both looked so happy to be back together, laughing and randomly giving each other pecks on the cheek. Minho wondered what it was going to be like when the two kingdoms united once King Seungmin and King Hyunjin got married. 

"Minho!" 

Minho was snapped out of his reverie as Han came rushing at him, almost jumping into his arms as one of his hands grabbed the back of Minho's neck. For one panicked moment, Minho thought Han was going to kiss him, and he could feel his ears burning and going red.

His arms lay on Han's waist as the Mage took his face in his hands, grinning excitedly. "We did it! We actually succeeded can you believe it?"

Minho smiled, "It was your plan Han, you figured it out. Of course it was going to work."

Han's hands trailed down Minho's arms, pulling him a little closer. Minho thought his heart couldnt race any faster, but then it did.

"Thank you for believing in me," he said sincerely, looking up at Minho with those big brown puppy dog eyes.

Minho felt like he was forgetting how to breathe, he didnt know what to say, what to do, all he wanted to do at that point was wrap his arms around Han and kiss him like there was no tomorrow. 

"Minho? What's wrong?" Han had noticed a very conflicted look in the General's face. 

"I....." behind Han, Minho could see that King Hyunjin could see what was happening. The King smiled, nodding and encouraging him as if he knew just what was going on. 

"Yeah?" Han ventured. "Minho is everything alright?" 

"I-" Minho stammered. "I'm sorry Han," he muttered quickly, walking off. As he did, he noticed King Hyunjin rolling his eyes in the distance. 

Han was confused and worried, and ran after the General, catching him alone in an open courtyard at the back of the Pagoda. 

Nobody else was here, and it was dark apart from the multitude of stars in the sky and the full moon. 

"Minho what's going on?" Han's voice was serious now. "What happened that you're not telling me?"

"Nothing, nothing just-" Minho didn't even know why he was panicking so much, didnt the King tell him he was sure Han felt the same way?

But what if he didn't? What if Minho was misreading all of this?

Han walked up to him and grabbed his arm, spinning him around. "Minho, just be honest with me."

But then he saw how upset Minho looked and his expression softened. "Hey," he said gently, taking Minho's hands in his. "I'm just worried about you Minho, I want to know what's going on with you, the way you walked off like that....you never do that. So what's wrong, you know you can tell me anything right?"

Minho looked down, nodding, then took a deep breath and faced him. 

"Han, I'm just scared."

"Of?"

"Well first, I was scared of the war. I was scared of going into battle, I was scared to see you out there on the battlefield. I was scared and worried for you.

Then I was scared when we heard of the Dark Army, and what that might mean for all of us, what a war like that could mean."

He reached up and cupped Han's cheek, caressing it gently with his thumb.

"Then when you opened those portals, I was worried about you, and hoped and prayed everything would go smoothly. And now," he paused, taking a deep breath. 

"Now I'm scared of telling you how I feel, and potentially losing you Han."

"How you feel about what, Minho?"

"About you. How I've felt for the longest time. How we started off just being close, but then I started looking for your face in every room, finding every excuse to see you, meet you, talk to you. 

I started missing you when you weren't there and wanting you by my side, because you felt like home.

And then I started falling for you Han, and I never stopped." 

"Minho," Han said, his voice so soothing that it sounded like honey. He reached up to touch Minho's cheek, smiling slightly to think that this is what he had been panicking about. 

"I can't expect you to feel the same," Minho continued, "but I just want to tell you that I lov-"

Minho was cut off unexpectedly as Han pulled him in by the collar of his shirt, and the next thing Minho felt was Han's lips against his own and Han's hands tangled up in his hair.

For one moment, Minho was surprised, unable to digest that Han was actually kissing him, but then he sank into the kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around Han and hugging him as he kissed him passionately. 

He could feel Han smiling every time their lips met, with his hands slowly untangling themselves from around his neck, his fingertips lightly brushing against his skin as he did so, before running down the expanse of Minho's chest to rest on his hips. 

He lightly pulled away, smiling softly as he looked into Minho's eyes. 

"I love you too, Minho." 

He felt like his heart was soaring as he pulled the Mage in again, both of them laughing as he peppered kisses all over his cheeks.

"I can't believe this is what you were freaking out about," Han laughed.

"Well I didn't know if you'd feel the same."

"Minhooo!" Han said teasingly, playfully shaking him by the shoulders. "I made it so obvious how could you not know?"

Minho chuckled shyly, unable to contain how happy he was as he leant forward to kiss Han's lips again to stop his teasing.

He then took his hand and pulled him over to the edge of the courtyard, which was somewhat of a balcony overlooking a forest down below and the ocean in the distance. 

They sat down, gazing at the stars as Han cuddled up against Minho, who put his arm around him, feeling comfortable in his warmth and the feeling of loving, and being loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of my favourite chapters to write I was smiling the whole time!  
> We've got a lot of lovebirds ❤


	25. Chapter 25 - The Journey Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But they'd already lived what felt like countless lifetimes in their time together, Chan literally did risk his life for him. If that wasn't love, what was?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story needed a little *steaminess*, so I gave it just a pinch of heat 😌

Chan had realised that he had been in Erebus for over a day once he finally returned to Krios. Time seemed to work very differently there, and he supposed it was because of the warped magic. 

They were all beyond lucky that King Hyunjin had survived and made it to Parthenos where they had discovered where he, Felix and Seungmin were. If not for that....Chan gulped as he changed in the room he had been given in the Pagoda, not wanting to imagine what the alternative was. 

Just then, he heard the door open behind him, and turned around to see who it was. It had to be Felix, only he barged in like that. 

He was right, it was. 

Felix had walked right in on a shirtless Chan and opened his mouth to speak but just stood there, staring, not sure whether to stay or to go. 

"I'll just...I'll leave, maybe?"

Chan laughed. Felix was still such a flustered mess around him. "Lix, this isnt the first time you've seen me like this." He cocked his head to the side, smirking, "remember the hospital in Tavros?"

Felix blushed remembering their first kiss, while Chan laughed and walked up to him, wrapping his arms around his waist and pecking him gently on his lips. 

"Tell me, what brings you here so late?"

"Huh?" Felix was too distracted by Chan's bare arms to remember why he had come here in the first place. 

Chan just looked at him with amusement, untangling himself and kissing his forehead while ruffling his hair. 

He flopped on to his bed and beckoned Felix to sit with him. "What's on your mind love?" He asked, as Felix came and sat in the space between Chan's legs. 

Chan gently pulled him back by his elbows so that he was now laying on Chan's chest, with Felix hugging one of his arms.

"Now that we have 4 out of the 5 kingdoms," Felix began, as Chan softly ran his fingers through his hair, "we're going to have to go this place right, that Seungmin mentioned- Niorun?"

"To find out how we can defeat Erebus, yes."

Felix shifted his position so that he was now facing Chan. "What do you think this place is like?"

Chan thought for a moment. "It's north of Vekten, but no one has ever been there. It's far too cold to live there, and-" Chan groaned, and stopped. 

"And what?"

"Well, it's kind of NOT supposed to be visited," Chan continued. "Story goes that there is alot of supernatural power and Astral magic concentrated there, and people who go are essentially risking their lives."

"We've been doing alot of that lately, haven't we?"

Chan chuckled, folding one hand beneath his head while his other played with Felix's hair. "My love, YOU'RE the one making me risk my life." 

Felix pouted, lifting himself up so that he was hovering over Chan. "Well you've never complained."

Chan's eyes flicked to Felix's lips. "I'm not. You know I'd risk my life for you any day."

Felix's heart lurched remembering what happened in the battle against the Overlord. "Please don't remind me," he said, caressing Chan's cheek. 

"I-" he started, but then stopped himself. 

"What?" Chan asked. 

Felix wanted to say it. Up until now, he and Chan hadn't verbally said "I love you" to each other, and he didn't know if he really should. Of course they meant alot to each other, but was it too soon? Was it a bad idea? 

But they'd already lived what felt like countless lifetimes in their time together, Chan literally did risk his life for him. If that wasn't love, what was? 

"Baby?" Chan asked, sitting up in bed now as his tone got a little more serious, but Felix's heart still fluttered every time he called him 'love' or 'baby' or 'lix'.

Felix felt like he was going to combust. Chan studied his expression with concern, "Felix, what's wrong?"

Chan couldn't bear to see Felix in distress, and he didnt know what was going through his mind now. Chan loved him, from the bottom of his heart he really did. He kept hinting at it, hoping Felix would catch on, but not wanting to put him into an uncomfortable situation if the timing wasn't right. 

Felix took a deep breath, steadying himself. "I just-" he took a deep breath again, how should he word this?

"I-" his words faltered again. 

"You're just....you're precious to me, Chan. You're so, so precious," he cupped the man's face in his hands. "I just, I really..."

Nope. He couldn't say it. 

"I care about you."

Chan smiled, some tiny instinct telling him that Felix was trying to tell him something else, but he didnt push it. 

"I do too, Felix," he said, wrapping him in a hug. They held each other for a few moments in silence, and then Felix pulled away, looking into Chan's eyes as if the whole universe was in them, before leaning forward and kissing him. 

The kiss was slower, and warmer than when they usually kissed, it was as if there were a hundred emotions dancing between their lips. 

Felix slowly pulled away, smiling softly at him, placing another kiss along his jawline as he lay back down on Chan's chest. 

Chan trailed his fingers along Felix's back, as Felix comfortably snuggled up against Chan. 

The warmth of Chan's body and the sound of his heartbeat was like a lullaby, and soon Felix was fast asleep on Chan's chest, which was about the most comfortable thing Chan had experienced with him yet. 

"I love you, Felix," Chan whispered softly to himself, as his arms tightened around him and he drifted off to sleep as well.

*

As the sun filtered in softly through the curtains, Felix woke up, having spent the whole night with Chan's arms around him whilst laying on his chest. 

He sleepily groaned, snuggling even more against Chan and not wanting to get up just yet. He heard Chan's soft chuckle as the man ruffled his hair. 

"Well look who's finally up." 

Despite still being sleepy, Felix smiled, lightly kissing Chan's chest as he lifted himself up. "I'm sorry I spent the whole night like that," he said as he sat up in Chan's lap. "It must've been uncomfortable for you."

Chan smiled sleepily, and right there, just as Felix had woken up, he was already feeling all mushy seeing how adorable his boyfriend looked early morning. 

"On the contrary," Chan said, laying his hands on Felix's hips, "I'd prefer if you did this every night."

Felix blushed, and just then someone knocked on their door. Whoever it was didnt wait too long for a response and opened it, walking in. It was Han.

"Excuse me, Chief Chan," he spoke fast, "but have you seen Prince Fe-"

He walked right in on seeing Chan laying down and Felix on top of him, and was so flustered he didn't know what to do. 

"I uh, I guess you are seeing Prince Felix- have him I mean- I mean have had him- you know what, I'll just leave," he stammered, before promptly walking right into the door. 

Chan and Felix burst out laughing. "Han," Felix said, turning around to face him. "What did you come to tell us?"

Han was red with embarrassment, "King Hyunjin wanted to discuss the plans about travelling to Niorun, so there's to be a meeting in an hour." He made a concentrated effort not to make eye contact with them.

"We'll be out soon, Han, thank you," Chan said as Han hurriedly left. 

They chuckled as the door closed and Felix lifted himself off Chan. "We better get ready then," he said as he fixed his hair and straightened his clothes.

"Yeah," Chan replied, swinging his legs off the side of the bed and standing up. "I'll jump in the shower and see you in a bit yeah?" He said as he gave Felix a quick kiss on the cheek. 

"Maybe I could join you," Felix murmured to himself, thinking Chan was out of earshot. 

"You WHAT?" Chan turned around halfway towards the bathroom, wide eyed, and for the first time, he was the one blushing.

Felix laughed at Chan's expression, walking up to him and wrapping his arms around his bare torso, amused by the way Chan's cheeks were coloured coral, as opposed to how Felix was usually the flustered one. 

He leaned in, brushing his lips against Chan's ear, his hands exploring the warm, taut skin of his back. "Well look who's suddenly shy," Felix teased, his voice was suddenly an octave deeper, sultrier. 

Chan couldn't respond, taken aback by Felix's boldness, blushing an even deeper shade when Felix took the soft flesh of his earlobe between his lips, and then between his teeth. 

The blush from his cheeks seemed to blossom down his neck and down his chest, leaving a pleasant sort of prickliness and warmth in its wake. He sucked in a gasp as Felix's lips and teeth found their way to the back of Chan's ear, following an invisible trail down the side of his neck. He could feel Felix's warm cheek against his own, and quivered slightly when his teeth grazed against his flesh, followed by a slow caress by his tongue; the wetness then warmed by the puffs of Felix's breath. 

Chan gripped the Prince's hips, leaning against a wall and tilting his head back while soft groans left this throat, which only encouraged Felix. He chuckled slowly against Chan's shoulder as his teeth sunk in, earning him a soft, yet pleased cry from the Chief. 

He pulled away, lips as red as the little roses of colour he'd left behind on the alabaster column of Chan's neck, his hands moving slowly from behind Chan's body, taking their time in making their way across his toned abdomen, across the expanse of his chest, and finally to rest around his neck.

The morning sun was shining through the lattice work above the door to the balcony, decorating the right side of Chan's face and bare chest with patterned, golden light, bringing out the deep brown in his eye and highlighting its contrast against the blue of his other eye. He looked beautiful. 

"It's like you were made out of magic itself," Felix mused, mesmerized by his boyfriend's beauty. Chan smirked, his familiar cockiness coming back as he pulled Felix closer to him by his hips, sliding his hands under the fabric of his shirt as he leaned forward to kiss him. 

"Says the one touched by the stars," he crooned against his lips, leaning back just enough to see the sparks dance in Felix's blue eyes before he kissed the tip of his nose. That trademark blinding smile lit up his face before Chan leaned in to press his lips to his once more, his arms fully underneath his shirt now, wrapping tightly around Felix's back. 

The kiss was dizzying, one that made them feel heat behind their closed eyes and spreading across their collarbones as their tongues found each other. Chan exhaled through his nose, a soft groan coming along with it as Felix's hands gripped the sides of his neck, pressing lightly into the velvety bruises he'd left behind only a few moments ago. 

Teeth caught on to pillowy lips, the heat that they felt was now an aura of warmth enveloping their entire bodies. "I think," Felix managed in between kisses, "we're going to be-" 

"Late?" Chan mumbled as he sucked on Felix' bottom lip, his teeth bruising the plush flesh ever so slightly. Felix hummed, both in agreement and in pleasure. 

Part of Chan didn't want to care about being late to the King's meeting, pressing his lips to Felix's again as he pushed the Prince up against the wall opposite them and caged him in, his mind growing numb from how addictive the kiss was, like sweet liquor. 

But another part of Chan knew, even as his hands lay against the bare skin of Felix's chest while his teeth and lips roughly tasted the Prince's neck, that they did have a duty to attend to. Felix seemed to realise too, his hands resting on Chan's hips as he mumbled, "Babe," then he giggled as Chan nipped a particularly sensitive spot, "we really should get going."

He pulled back, breathing hard and flushed, hair even more messed up than it was when he woke up. Felix had a dazed, happy little smile on his face as they caught their breath and calmed themselves down enough to think straight. Chan reached forward and straightened out Felix's shirt for him, kissing the top of his head fondly. "We'll continue this another time," he mumbled against Felix's mess of blond hair, before trotting off to get ready as fast as he could. 

\--- 

Later, Felix, Chan, King Seungmin, King Hyunjin, Minho and Han all sat around the centre table in the King's main chamber to discuss the way forward. 

"Vekten is the closest to Niorun," Chan was saying as the meeting progressed, "I can easily organize air transport for all of us to get there as soon as possible."

"The question is," Hyunjin mused, "what are we going to find when we get there, what are we supposed to do?"

"It's an ancient practice, Hyunjin. There was no trace left behind by our Founders after they went there."

"But they survived," Han interjected, "so clearly, they didnt meet any harm in Niorun."

"So all we do know is that it will give us the power to defeat Erebus yes?" Chan asked, and received nods from around the table. 

"Then that's enough for me," Felix said, leaning forward. "But we're missing one thing-"

Just then the doors of the chamber flew open, and a figure sauntered in. 

"I hope I'm not too late," Lord Jeongin grinned at the group. "I'd left Verseau some time back, stopped at Parthenos on the way, and then got here as soon as I could."

Everyone around the table greeted him, but they were confused. "Lord Jeongin," Hyunjin began, "how did you even know about what had happened?"

"News travels fast, my friend," he said, slinging his sabre over his shoulder as he slid into one of the chairs. He was met with even more confusion.

"Wind spirits," he smirked at the group. "Verseau has always been protected and advised by wind spirits. We caught word of the happenings in Tavros and Krios, as well as of the plans to go to Niorun."

He looked over at Felix. "It's an honour, King Felix, to be in your presence. I've heard of your great power, and of your bravery in liberating these kingdoms." He extended the compliment to the whole table, "all of you, in fact, are heroes. I couldn't help earlier, but I can certainly help now."

"Wait," Felix had only caught on to one thing, "KING Felix? I'm afraid you're mistaken Lord, Queen Euridicia-"

"I met with her before I came here." He smiled warmly at Felix.

"Whilst we haven't been able to do a proper coronation yet, fighting Overlord Makhai and liberating two kingdoms is more than enough to prove you are ready to lead Parthenos.  
The Queen told me to tell you that she will take care of matters until this is all over, and then, the kingdom is yours to rule. 

Felix was stunned, but couldn't help the smile that began to grace his face. Chan looked at him with pride in his eyes, then got up, bowing to him. 

One by one, Minho, Han, Hyunjin, Seungmin and Jeongin all stood up and bowed to him as well. 

Looking him in the eye, Chan rose, as did the rest. "It is an honour, King Felix."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehehe I looove writing chanlix scenes because their relationship has so many dynamics. It's as if they keep getting more and more comfortable with each other. Soulmate behaviour? I think so. 
> 
> Prince Felix is now....KING Felix 😌


	26. Chapter 26 - The Trials of Niorun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niorun was beautiful, with the Aurora borealis dancing across the dark sky and massive glaciers everywhere. The lights in the sky cast a green glow over everything, and everyone could sense how strong the magic in the air was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the next part of their journey begins; with all 5 Kings, as well as Generals Changbin and Minho, and Mage Han  
> OT8 finally in the house!

The group had embarked on the journey to Niorun, and Chan had insisted that General Changbin join them too. The journey took over half a day, and when they finally got there, it was dark.

But according to the legends, it was perpetually night in Niorun anyway.

Niorun was beautiful, with the Aurora borealis dancing across the dark sky and massive glaciers everywhere. The lights in the sky cast a green glow over everything, and everyone could sense how strong the magic in the air was. 

Suddenly, Seungmin perked up. "Straight ahead, beyond the glaciers, there's a creek with a river. We need to go there."

Everyone looked at him curiously. "How do you know?" Felix asked. 

Seungmin shrugged. "It's like the earth called out to me- I cant explain it."

Sure enough, straight ahead there was a creek and a river that ran in between two cliffs. It was a bit strange to find it in a land of ice, but given the mysticism of the place, nobody questioned it. 

They made it to the bottom of the cliffs, where there were exactly 8 wooden boats waiting for them. Han knelt down and gently touched the surface of the water, and for a moment, the whole river glowed a luminescent green. 

"So we're probably supposed to follow the river," Han said, as everyone got into a boat. As soon as they set it out on the water and got in, the boat moved forward, without them having to manually row it or push it, it was as if the water itself was sentient. 

Beneath each of their boats, the water glowed green, and they travelled in silence until they came to a curtain of water at the end of the two cliffs. 

They passed through, but when Changbin, Minho and Han made it to the other side, they saw that the boats with the 5 kings had completely disappeared. 

They looked around in concern, then gradual panic. "What just happened?" Han asked, looking around frantically. As if in response, the water around them leaped up in spouts, branches of water dancing gracefully in the air, and a voice rang out as the ropes of water encircled them.

"The Kings have their own challenges to face before they receive the power they seek," the voice said, and it was as if it was coming from the water. 

"The last time that Erebus rose, it was the kings alone, not their mages and generals. Do you consider yourself worthy of winning this war?"

Nobody answered, they were too stunned, too confused. 

"Well then. So be it." 

Suddenly, Changbin couldnt see- the whole world went black. He could hear Minho and Han and he knew his eyes were open, but there was nothing he could see. 

"Minho! Han! I can't see! Are you ok?" 

Before he could get a response, he felt as if he was hit from the back by an unseen force, and then thrown into the water. 

On the boats, the two other men shouted, worried for Changbin, how had he suddenly lost his vision? Before either one of them could jump in, Han felt a strange sensation in his body, as if his magic was being supercharged beyond his control. 

He fell forward on the boat, wisps of blinding magic leaking from his hands and burning the wood on his boat. 

"Han?" Minho shouted from the other end. He was panicking, Changbin had been thrown into the water and now something was wrong with Han. "Han are you ok?"

But Han wasn't. He looked up at Minho, who saw purple magic seeping from his eyes. "Minho," Han sounded scared, "I cant control it-" 

A bolt of magic shot from Han's hand towards Minho, who ducked out of the way. Immediately after, Han's boat capsized under the amount of burning magic rolling off his body. But Han hovered in the air, his body alight with rings of magic around him. 

Magic burst out from Han, straight at the massive cliffs behind them, breaking down the structure. Huge chunks of rock started to hit the water and could potentially hit them too. 

Minho looked towards the water again, and then at Han, and the rocks hurtling down as the river itself shook from the pressure.

"You can't save them both, you know." It was that voice again. "After all, you're the only one here who has no powers at all." 

Underwater, Changbin had been panicking, how could he swim to safety when he couldnt see where the surface was? He was about to give up when he remembered- wind. 

He focused his last bit of energy on sensing the air above water, then once he did, he channelled it straight towards him. The wind broke through the surface, catching Changbin in its vortex and propelling him to the surface.

But Changbin had already run out of air to breathe, and by the time the twister of wind had reached the water, he was already unconscious. The wind magic, without its maker, wasn't as strong, and began to fade as he reached the surface, dropping him on the boat before fading away completely. 

Minho saw that Changbin was unconscious and immediately felt fear creep into his stomach. Han was starting to glow dangerously, he was emitting too much magic. The cliff behind them had been destroyed, with massive rocks hitting the water and creating waves which disrupted Minho's and Changbin's boats. 

Minho abandoned his own and jumped onto Changbin's as the waves pushed him closer, shaking the General in hopes that he would wake up, but he didnt. He then noticed that the water began to glow furiously green, starting to bubble and steam. He looked up at Han, whose magic was creating this, but he knew there was nothing Han could do to control it. 

"There's nothing you can do, General Minho. Nothing you can do in the face of magic this powerful." The voice echoed.

Minho was distraught, he cradled Changbin in his arms and looked at Han with tears in his eyes as he saw the skin on Han's face beginning to crack and glow with magic underneath. 

But Minho couldn't give up. He wouldn't. He jumped off the boat, launching himself straight at Han, tackling him into the water. The steaming water was imbued with unstable magic, burning and stinging Minho's skin, but in that moment he could only think of Han.  
Underwater, Minho could see the fear in Han's eyes before he brought him to the surface, hoisting him into the boat with Changbin. 

"Minho, it's too dangerous- I'm too dangerous," Han said, barely touching Minho for fear of hurting him. A tear ran down his cheek. "Go. Leave. Before you get hurt."

"No." Minho said, laying a hand against Han's heart. At first he felt the magic burn and almost pierce him, as if lava was coursing through each and every one of his veins, but he endured the pain as his own healing magic burst from his hand and into Han's body. Slowly, Han's magic, and the glow around his body began to fade. The cracks in his skin healed, the magic evaporated.

Han was alright.

Before they celebrated too much, Minho placed a hand on Changbin's chest, the healing magic encasing his body as well. Changbin coughed, then jerked forward, water spilling out of his mouth as he sat up straight, blinking a few times, looking at the two men in front of him. 

"Oh thank God, I can see again," he said, as Minho breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against the boat. Changbin slowly came to realise that it was Minho who had saved him, "thank you Minho," he said, leaning forward to hug him, as Han did the same, squeezing Minho as the tears fell from his eyes. 

Minho wiped away his own tears, laying a quick kiss on Han's lips when the voice spoke again. The water swirled in the air in front of them again, and glowed in the shape of a spirit.

"So it seems you are worthy."

Minho could feel the rage rise in his stomach. "This was all a test? To see if we were worthy of winning a war?" He spat.

"No." The voice responded, "to determine if you were worthy of being a team. And you are."

The air simmered around them, as if they were in the very middle of the Aurora Borealis, waves of green and turquoise light encasing them all in an ethereal glow. As the light disappeared, the three of then found themselves somewhere completely different, in an ice cave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So just thought I'd throw this in - Niorun is the goddess of dreams in Norse mythology, so effectively, the Realm of Niorun translates to the Realm of Dreams.
> 
> You'll soon see how the magic plays on each of them in that particular sense :3
> 
> Also, the landscape of Niorun is inspired by the North pole, with the Aurora Borealis in the sky along with alot of glaciers and ice. The river that they travel on between the cliffs is inspired by the Son Doong cave in Vietnam; check it out! It looks beautiful and downright magical!


	27. Chapter 27 - The Trials of Niorun - Chan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Chief Chan of Vekten, the One of Gifted Sight and the Leader of the Wind Walkers," rings of water encircled him. "A tribe that previously stood alone. What changed?"

As Chan passed through the curtain of water, he immediately noticed that he was alone. Without missing a beat, he drew his swords and stood up, on guard for any attack he might face.

The water around him churned, and a voice rang out, "Chief Chan of Vekten, the One of Gifted Sight and the Leader of the Wind Walkers," rings of water encircled him. "A tribe that previously stood alone. What changed?"

"Who are you?" Chan asked the darkness. The water swirled in the air in front of him. With Chan's gift, he could see bright magic weaving between the water, but never fully taking shape. "The essence of this land, boy. The Primordial Spirit from which all other spirits come."

"Where is the rest of my team?"

"Safe. But your concern should lie with yourself. Your own strengths and weaknesses." The magic flowed around him along with the water. "And your strengths are your skill in battle, your command of the winds, your ability to see magic." 

The voice paused, and there was a rush of energy in front of him, magic so strong he had to shield his eyes. 

"But your weakness," the voice continued as the light faded and Chan opened his eyes, gasping at what he saw on the water in front of him.

"Your weakness is the Prince." 

Chan saw Felix standing on the surface of the water several feet in front of him, looking down, not moving. Chan felt a slightly sinking feeling in his stomach. "Felix?" He called out.

Felix looked up, and his eyes were glowing, tiny white flames escaping from his eyes; but he didnt say a word. Something was wrong. 

Felix rose into the air, and Chan witnessed what he thought must've been the peak of his power. His body was glowing, flames dancing across him, his hair extended into a mini inferno of blazing white fire ending near his waist.

The flames around Felix's legs lifted him further into the air, where behind him, two massive wings of pure white fire sprouted from his back. Felix held his spear in his hand, looking down at Chan with those flaming eyes and no emotion on his face. 

Chan didn't know whether to be impressed or frankly, terrified. 

"I wonder," the voice continued, "could you overcome your weakness?"

At that moment, Felix dove straight towards Chan, at such an incredible speed that he was almost too slow at getting out of the way. He commanded the winds around him to lift him into the air as Felix shot burning hot flames at him. 

Chan used the wind as a shield to protect him from the blazing fire. "Felix!" He yelled, but it was as if it wasn't even him.

Was this a trick? 

Felix flew at Chan with his spear poised to attack, and as Chan lifted his blades to deflect, he read the magic flowing out of Felix, hoping that this was an illusion.

But it wasn't. The aura was Felix's familiar aura, the magic was the same magic Chan had seen flowing through him at the very beginning. This was Felix in the flesh.

As Chan struggled with his blades, the fire in Felix's eyes faded, and for a split second he looked at Chan with his familiar blue eyes in desperation.

"Chan?"

Chan stopped exerting any force against the blade, going limp as he looked at Felix. "Felix what's goi-"

But before he could finish, the flames engulfed Felix's eyes once again, and with incredible strength, he hit Chan with the end of the spear, sending him crashing back into the cliff. 

Chan only recovered slightly as he felt himself falling, and quickly gathered enough wind around him to stay in the air. 

He was barely floating when a flurry of attacks came right at him; blazing bolts of fire. 

Chan kept flying away, determined to not hurt Felix no matter what was going on. Felix's wings created a torrent of wind and fire, like a firestorm, aimed straight at Chan. 

Chan tried to redirect the wind but the fire got him, slightly burning him and knocking him out of the air and sending him hurtling towards the water. 

Chan hit the surface, the water cooling his burns, before wading back to the surface and climbing on to the boat, still gripping his swords. 

"You must put your feelings aside and destroy him, Chan." The voice said as Chan saw the entire sky light up with fire. Felix was like an inferno, blinding light and raging fire, pouring out of his skin. There was a burst of fire as Felix dove down at terrifying speed, like a burning comet, straight towards Chan.

"Your love for the Prince is your weakness. He will destroy you." The voice continued. 

Chan watched Felix coming straight at him, a mix of fear and unswaying love pricking at his heart, and his eyes welled with tears. 

Chan let his swords fall out of his hands and dropped to his knees. He wasn't going to fight.

So be it, he thought. 

"My love is not a weakness," he said as he closed his eyes, letting the tears spill over the edge and roll down his cheeks. If this was how the end was going to come to him, then he would accept. He didn't care about the war or the battles ahead or whatever this challenge was. 

He wasn't going to hurt Felix, even if it cost him his own life. 

He had only one thought on his mind, one static image that he clung to for comfort in these final moments. He thought of Felix, of waking up to a smile that was brighter than any flame or fire. He held on to the feeling of waking up with Felix in his arms and how he could stay in that one moment for an eternity.

He could sense the glow of the fire behind his eyelids get closer and brighter, and as another tear dripped down his chin, he prepared for the impending burn of the blazing fire.

But the impact of never came, the fire never struck him, but the glow remained. Chan cautiously opened his eyes, and saw himself surrounded by a curtain of glowing golden light.

It was calm, Felix was nowhere to be seen. The water swirled in the air in front of him, and he could see the magic start to take the shape of a spirit. 

Chan blinked the tears away. "What happened?"

"Congratulations, Chief Chan. You passed your trial." The voice was much kinder and gentler now, a smile on the spirit's face.

"What? How?"

"In love and war, Chan, you will find fear and terror. The fear of losing and the terror of losing SOMEONE you care for deeply.  
But there is one other thing that comes out of love and war, and that is harmony. Harmony is the fruit of a war that is fought for peace, and that is the magic that you have been gifted with today.

Much like the constellation of Libra, your tribe fights for balance, and now you will fight for Harmony. You were faithful to love even when war was staring you in the face, and that was your test."

The golden magic began to settle over Chan, seeping into his skin and coursing through his veins. He could feel a new, foreign magic now in his body. The light around him faded, and he found himself surrounded by a the hollow shadows of a mix of ice and rock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the challenges that they're facing are clearly no joke, so far they've been heart wrenching and traumatic, giving them choices that they shouldnt have to make.
> 
> And the Felix that Chan saw wasn't an illusion? What happened?
> 
> Also, another bit of inspiration for this chapter if you guys wanna read: so the part where the spirit talks about fear, terror and harmony is kind of a play on the title of the story itself.
> 
> In Greek mythology, Ares (God of war) and Aphrodite (goddess of love) were a couple (amidst other partners and all that jazz). In their union, or in love and war as I would like to put it, they had three children, Phobos (God of fear), Deimos (God of terror) and harmonia (goddess of harmony).
> 
> I found the myth fascinating in the sense that the union of two extremes, love and war, creates fear and terror, which is understandable, but also creates harmony, which i suppose in a way is the middle ground between love and war. I liked the myth so much that I thought I'd add it into the story :3


	28. Chapter 28 - The Trials of Niorun: Seungmin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "That is the Astral power of Tavros; Fortitude. Not just in body, but in mind, in spirit too. Your duty towards your kingdom, towards ending this war, towards the man who will wait for you at the alter once this is all over."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little Valentine's day update for ya'll :3 I had initially written only Chan and Felix's challenges of Niorun but on twt I recieved requests for the others as well, so I've been writing new little edits :3

Seungmin had a vast knowledge of all things mystical, of all things magical. He knew history inside and out, as he had made it his duty to understand the past of their kingdoms if he was ever to be the kind of leader to bring Tavros into a harmonious future. 

So for him, he knew that something was going to go wrong. The Realm of Niorun wasn't feared for nothing, after all there'd been people who'd come here hunting for power, only to never return to their homes. 

Seungmin was the first to sense the imbalance of magic in the air, and again, it was like the earth itself was speaking to him. Taurus, the patron constellation of Tavros, was one which based its Astral energy in the very element of earth, so it was no wonder that Seungmin felt that something was off. 

The moment they reached the waterfall, the air around him appeared to glitch. The water itself seemed to be distorted, like a dozen different colours were bursting out of the atmosphere itself, fighting with each other. 

The water transformed from that of a liquid state, to that of one that was neither solid, nor plasma. Just little blocks of pixelated colour that suddenly burst around him, and with the burst, the rest of his companions disappeared. 

Seungmin gritted his teeth. Without a doubt he knew; this was his Trial. 

The water beneath him seemed to turn into solid ice instantaneously, and his boat was frozen stuck to one spot. Seungmin unsheathed his sword, climbing carefully out of the boat and readying himself to meet whatever challenge might come his way. 

But he was met with nothing but silence. 

Then, when he least expected it, a column of blinding pink, purple and blue light shot out from the ice, glitching the same way the waterfall had before. The column of energy was interspaced by flashes of lightening, some of it strikingly white, some of it ominously black. 

Another column shot out from the ice towards Seungmin's right with a powerful crack through the surface, and the King cowered as the blazing magic pierced the sky.

Another, and another, and another, until Seungmin was surrounded by pillars of some kind of magic that he had never seen before. 

There was a wind that seemed to appear out of nowhere, swirling in a cylindrical pattern in front of him, picking up tiny shards of ice as it rose into the air, taking on a vaguely humanoid shape. 

"King Seungmin," a voice from the centre of the swirling blend of ice and air addressed him.

"Niorun." Seungmin addressed the spirit. 

"Ah, how deductive of you," the spirit seemed amused. "I am impressed, King Seungmin. I suppose you also know that this is your Trial, to prove you deserve the power to stand against Erebus."

Seungmin's face betrayed no reaction. "I am aware."

A low laugh, almost like a light rumble, rippled across the ice and magic, and Seungmin would have been lying if he said it didn't leave shivers all over the surface of his skin. He watched the spirit float straight into one of the columns of unstable magic. 

"Well," the voice he heard began to sound distorted, as if multiple frequencies were being layered on top of it. "Let us begin." 

All the knowledge in the world couldn't have prepared him for what came next. There was a roar that was inhuman that came from the very centre of the pillar, thunder that quite literally shook the ice he was standing on, sending webs of cracks coursing through the frozen terrain.

The sky began to glow a deep fuchsia, bordering on crimson, as white and black lightening continued to fork through the sky, that loud, menacing thunder following every burst of electricity.

In the midst of the earthquake beneath his feet, the ice about 50 feet in front of him cracked and seemed to break off completely, falling into nothingness, with the river beyond it seeming to dissipate into air. 

Where the river once was, was now an empty void of the same scarlet sky that seemed to stretch on for as far as he could see. He turned around, and the cliffs that once stood there had disappeared entirely; all he saw was black lightening flashing across a deathly rose sky. 

The earth shook beneath his feet once more, but this time it was different, this time it was as if something massive had stomped down on to the surface.

He turned around, and his heart sank. 

Several hundreds of feet in the air, taller than even the turrets of his castle, was a being made of pure energy; the result of the fusion between the Niorun and the shifting columns of energy that had broken through the ice. The being's eyes and mouth were glowing; caverns of blinding light. 

There was a deep, booming rumble that sent tremors through the ice he was standing on and his body itself. He slowly picked up on the rhythm of the sound, realising it was a laugh.

"You stand no chance, King Seungmin," the voice boomed, still sounding like multiple frequencies fused together. The being began to move, each step it took towards him sent shockwaves through the ice, cracking it and breaking apart the surface completely. 

There was only one thing Seungmin could do; run. 

So he did, stumbling across the broken chunks of ice and weaving between cracks, his foot sometimes slipping into the icy water below as waves of glowing fuchsia energy rippled across the surface, sending him flying forwards, his face hitting hard against the ice. 

He was battered and bruised, his resolve slowly fading. 

"You're the only King with no real power," Niorun mocked. "Heightened strength and a technologically developed city isn't going to help you now, is it?"

The words stung; it was true. Although Tavros did have special qualities, although he did have the power of superior strength, he wondered why he was the only King without Astral Magic. Vekten had its Wind Walkers and Chan could see energy, Parthenos had its healers and Felix had the power of Holy Fire.

Yet he was, powerless and alone. 

All around him was that same glitching energy, a curtain of magic that kept shifting between blue and pink, as if feeding off from reality itself. He looked towards the edge of the ice, where the river had fallen away to create an endless chasm below. Maybe that was an escape? 

Bolts of black and white lightening littered his path as he tried to make it to the edge, the rumbling laughter of Niorun in the distance. "Run, King, maybe you are simply not needed against Erebus." 

There was a shockwave across the ice again, splitting it up into such small pieces that there was almost no solid ground for Seungmin to step on. He was trapped on one disc of ice as the other chunks floated away, now surrounded my freezing water like a helpless, lonely island. 

He hadnt even realised the tears running down his cheeks, he hadnt even realised how hard he was gripping his sword, he hadn't realised how he kept his left fist clenched with his thumb firmly pressing against his engagement ring. 

Hyunjin. He didn't even get a chance-

Suddenly, a bolt of black flashed in front of him and the next thing he registered was a searing pain through his chest. His ears began to ring, time seemed to slow down, his body felt numb. 

His vision grew hazy and was tinged with an odd black at the edges, everything appeared to be moving in slow motion, or maybe that was because he was. 

He didn't realise his body was stumbling backwards, his sword clattering out of his hand as the sky seemed to move backwards, a blur of crimson and lightening. 

Or maybe that was because he was falling, backwards, into the icy cold water. He could faintly hear his own ragged breaths over the sound of the ringing in his ears as he floated in the water for a moment, the chill registered only on his face and fingertips as the rest of his body buzzed in a strange way, numb, yet with some sense of feeling still registering in his nerves. 

And then the scarlet sky disappeared under the expanse of water that seemed to grow, as Seungmin sank deeper and deeper below the surface, a part of his brain slowly starting to piece together what was happening. 

He had failed Tavros, failed his kingdom.  
He had failed Felix in the promise he gave to him, to defeat Erebus together.  
He had failed as a King, failed as an ally. 

He had failed as a lover, to Hyunjin. 

No. He couldn't. He couldn't give up now when he had a kingdom waiting for him, a lover waiting for him, a battle at the end of the line that Seungmin had to fight. 

He refused. Despite the pain that had been shooting through his body, he refused to let his body give up, he refused to let his mind give up. 

His thoughts were so overwhelming that he didn't realise something that should've been blatantly obvious to him.

Seungmin was breathing - underwater. 

It was an odd sensation, as if he was breathing in the water through his nose, but somewhere along the line it got filtered, with only the oxygen passing into his body as he breathed the water out the same way it came in. 

He also realised that the pain of the bruises on his face was fading, as was the pain in his chest. He ran a hand over his skin, where the lightening had pierced right through his heart, feeling no wound, no scar, just smooth flesh that bore him no pain to touch. 

Seungmin had always been fast to heal in battle or when injured, but he never paid it any mind. It was only now, as his vision cleared and his ears stopped ringing, that he realised that even the deadliest of injuries healed in a matter of moments.

It was only then that Seungmin realised, he was more than just exceptionally strong; he was close to being invincible. He felt a brand new rush of magic through his veins, one he had never felt before, it's only similarity being to how he sensed the calling of the earth when they first arrived in Niorun. 

Now he sensed the calling of the earth from several thousands of feet below as he floated in the water, and now, he felt that he could command it. 

And he did, willing the very earth to rise from below him as magic poured out of his body. The earth rose, meeting his feet and pushing him up beyond the surface of the freezing river, growing until he was now hundreds of feet in the air, a tower of rock, sand and mineral under his feet. 

Disrupting the earth had disrupted the entire river, with water and ice displaced as he stood at a height that was now eye level with the being of chaos in front of him. 

"You've been sorely mistaken," Seungmin growled through gritted teeth, "if you think that it would be that easy to get rid of me." 

He sensed the crystal and mineral in the earth below him, willing it out of the rock, molding it into a weapon that fit a blueprint in his mind; creating a blade that was stronger than steel. As the hilt met his hand, he held out the weapon to the streaks of unstable energy pouring out of the ice, infusing it with the pure essence of Niorun.

As holographic colour coursed through the translucent blade of the crystal weapon, Seungmin willed the earth beneath him to propel him forward as the giant being of energy roared, rushing forward to meet him. 

Seungmin pushed himself off the tower of rock, soaring into the air as he free-fell straight towards the being, burying his blade into the tangible energy of its neck. 

There was a scream of a thousand voices that almost blew out his hearing, and a burst of colour too bright for his eyes as everything around him melted into a mass of stunning white. He shielded himself from the light as the noise faded and the light died down into nothing but an afterglow of gold, and as he opened his eyes, he found himself face to face with the Primordial Spirit, the essence that gave the Realm its name - Niorun.

All around them was a blanket of shimmering gold light, and it didnt take Seungmin long to figure out what the spirit was about to tell him.

"I'm assuming I passed?" He asked.

The spirit was vaguely humanoid and bore the ghost of a smile on its vague features. "Yes, King Seungmin, and quite brilliantly too. Your powers of instant healing have lay within you since birth." They chuckled. "It's surprising that it took you an experience such as this to finally make you aware of it."

"And the powers over the earth itself?"

"That is the gift of Niorun, what you so rightfully earned through passing the Trial."

Seungmin's heart clenched. "How did I pass? The lightening struck me, if not for my power, which I didnt even know I possessed, by the way, I wouldnt even have survived. Tell me how you consider that /passing/ the Trial."

"Did you give up, King Seungmin?"

"I didn't want to. I wanted to survive, I wanted to pass."

"Do you know why your powers of invincibility are special?"

Seungmin was confused, his brow furrowing as he stared back at the spirit blankly. 

"Your power will only work if you truly want to survive. If you had given up, you would not have been able to breathe underwater. You would not have been able to raise the very bed of the river beyond the water's surface. 

That is the Astral power of Tavros; Fortitude. Not just in body, but in mind, in spirit too. Your duty towards your kingdom, towards ending this war, towards the man who will wait for you at the alter once this is all over."

Seungmin's lips lifted up only slightly at the thought of Hyunjin. "Is he okay?" He choked out, growing increasingly aware that if his own challenge had been this terrifying, what his lover would have been put through.

Niorun was expressionless. "Find out for yourself." 

The golden glow enveloping them both seemed to explode, painlessly and soundlessly, and when the King finally opened his eyes, he was met by those of his fiance, against a backdrop of ice and rock, with the gentle glow of turquoise dusting his chiseled features. 

He had passed, they both had, and they were safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's Seungmin's trial! One of my readers of twt cried reading this part coz it came really close to like the character actually dying in this but dw I wont do ya dirty like that :3 hell of a lot of angst in the upcoming chapters tho!


	29. Chapter 29: The Trials of Niorun- Hyunjin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You've been faced with the one person you cannot fight, o brave warlord king, have you not?"

Hyunjin was met by absolute silence when he crossed through the waterfall. The boat slowed down, now stagnant in the water. Above him, the sky still glowed beautifully, the Aurora Borealis still dancing gracefully across the black expanse of the sky.

His companions had all disappeared, and Hyunjin could almost sense the danger in the air. He whipped out his battle-axe, more than ready to face whatever was coming at him.

But contrary to the violence that he expected, the water beneath him simply lapped at the boat gently, the only sound that he could hear. In any other circumstance, this would've been peaceful, the soft waves, the colours and stars in the sky - in any other circumstance, this wouldve been perfect. 

A little bit in front of him, the water slowly rose in the air, like arms dancing and weaving between each other, a green glow emanating from the river itself. The water began to take shape, into the last person that he would've expected to see. 

As the water solidified, becoming flesh, becoming human, Hyunjin found himself staring at an exact replica of well, himself. Hovering above the water, in the same Kriotian regalia that he was in, hands behind his back and head slightly upturned, regarding him in the same way Hyunjin regarded those he would consider beneath him. 

The replica smirked, the first indication that this being had a life of it's own and was not simply an illusion or a reflection. "You've been faced with the one person you cannot fight, o brave warlord king, have you not?" The figure mocked, in his exact voice. 

"Who are you?" Hyunjin said through gritted teeth, his blood starting to boil. He had always been quick tempered and impulsive. 

"Who am I?" His replica feigned shock, a slender hand resting over his chest for dramatic effect. "The enemy that lies within you, Hyunjin, and what greater enemy than yourself?" The figure stepped on the water as if it was solid, walking up towards him. 

"After all, you've made countless painful decisions, have you not?"

The Aurora Borealis in the sky immediately disappeared, fading out like dying smoke. The stars seemed to dim as well, casting deep darkness over the land, a stark difference to the sense of tranquility Hyunjin had initially been met with. 

The battle-axe dropped from his hand, not voluntarily, however. It was as if there was a force controlling his body. His wrists felt like they were being pulled down by invisible chains, there was an intense pressure behind his knees, making him buckle. The boat disappeared completely beneath him, and like the figure standing in front of him, Hyunjin too was kneeling on the surface of the water itself. 

He tried to escape the invisible bonds, but struggle as he might, he couldnt. He clenched his fists and contracted the muscles in his arms so hard he thought they might tear from the searing burn that run through his upper and forearm, but to no avail, he couldnt move. 

His replica smirked, bending down mockingly. "The decisions you make for your Kingdom, is it truly your people you care for, or yourself?"

He lifted Hyunjin up by his chin. "All the wars and trauma we've put our people through, the pain that they've had to endure," the figure switched to first person, and seeing a mirror image speaking to him this way is what made Hyunjin start to spiral. 

It made all his past regrets, all his bad decisions very, very real. 

"You don't know what you're talking about!" He spat angrily.

The figure chuckled. "Oh, wouldn't I? After all, I am you. I remember the fury with which we declared thoughtless wars, I remember the way we tore our way through smaller cities and smaller tribes," his grip on Hyunjin's chin tightened. "Remember the faces, Hyunjin? The faces of our soldiers as they took their last breaths in our arms?"

No. No no no. 

"Stop," Hyunjin's choked, but his image only smirked.

"We've sent thousands of our own soldiers to their bitter end because of our own malice." He let go of his chin and bent down low enough until he was at eye level with Hyunjin, and the invisible weight pulling his limbs down seemed to strengthen. 

"I remember how we cried on the floor of our chambers after each war, swearing to never put our kingdom through that again, only to do it again," a shot of pain ran through his shoulders as his wrists were pulled down, below the surface of the water now. 

"And again," the pain worsened.

"And again." At this point Hyunjin screamed, the pain shooting straight into his shoulder blades and his arms. 

"You never learnt, did you? Too caught up in your title of the feared 'warlord king'."

"I did!" Hyunjin cried. "I'm not that person anymore- I've changed!"

The replica only hummed. "Sure. Which is why you declared war on Parthenos only a few months ago, completely disregarding the wellbeing of your people."

"That was-"

"Because of Seungmin. You can't lie to yourself, Hyunjin."

The rage within Hyunjin had turned into pure, desperate turmoil. Tears were beginning to prick at his eyes, silently begging for this to be over. A battle, he could handle, but not this. He had nothing left to say. 

"And in doing so," he continued to taunt, "you left your kingdom completely vulnerable to Erebus. You lost soldiers, you lost your entire kingdom."

"My people are fine! I saved them!" Hyunjin yelled. 

His replica laughed. "Oh we saved them did we?" He leaned in and sneered. "We were useless if not for Parthenos. We went to the kingdom we swore to destroy with our tails between our legs, begging for help. Krios would've been lost if not for their Mages and Seers." 

Hot tears rolled out of the corners of Hyunjin's eyes. He knew it was true, it was all true. He had failed so miserably to his people, he had failed as a King, and his people almost paid for his failure with their lives. 

His mirror image smirked in front of him in amusement. "Ah! So now we're feeling sorry are we? We're guilty? Regretful? Looking for repentance?"

Hyunjin's head had dropped but he felt his long hair being harshly grabbed and tugged downwards, bringing his head up to face himself. "I asked," he growled. "If you are looking for repentance."

Hyunjin didnt have to answer. His replica felt everything that he did, he knew that he had already felt his answer: yes. 

The image of the king loosened the grip on Hyunjin's hair, stepping back, and as he did, the energy holding Hyunjin down vanished, allowing him to move again. With aching arms and wobbly legs, Hyunjin stood, watching his living reflection stand with his arms behind his back as the black sky above them seemed to start.....melting. 

The night sky, with its faint stars, began to almost bleed into the glaciers in the distance, as if it was a living liquid encompassing everything around it, the same way that a growing shadow would. 

It was like darkness was falling on him, covering everything he could see until it felt like he was standing amidst the night sky itself. But the moment that the darkness began to descend upon him, Hyunjin felt that pressure again, only much, much stronger. 

It felt like the weight of the world was being pressed against his shoulders, pushing him to his knees again. He could feel the intense pressure on his back, and instinctively raised his hands up above his head to distribute the invisible weight. 

The moment the pressure touched his palms, it became almost tangible, and immediately, he started seeing vivid visions behind his eyes. Memories of all the wars he'd waged, images of the horror his people faced when Erebus attacked in his absence, the fear on his soldiers faces when they were sabotaged. 

Hyunjin buckled under the weight, his arms straining, his shoulders burning and his back twisting in pain as his knees hit harshly against the seemingly solid water. He cried out as he began to not just see, but to feel. To feel the same pain, the same fear as that he had inflicted, the same trauma that had been experienced by his subjects in his name; and it was horrible. 

He was barely aware of the soft footsteps walking up to him, the replica of himself bending down to watch him struggle under the immense weight of, what he could only imagine was the sky. 

"Do you feel it now, Hyunjin? You are carrying the weight of your Kingdom's sorrows, the weight of your mistakes."

"I'm sorry," his voice was barely a whisper. 

"Then bear the weight on your shoulders. If you falter, those same feelings of anguish that your people have felt, will be held in your own heart forever."

The pain was unimaginable. Hyunjin was strong, but he wasn't strong enough to carry the weight of tangible darkness. He doubted that even Seungmin, with his powers of heightened strength, could ever bear this. He could feel the strain of every muscle in his body, shooting pains like arrows of fire blazing through his body. He could feel the sweat break at his skin and mix with the tears on his face. 

But he had asked for repentance, and that is what he would recieve.

It must have been hours, or it must have been minutes.  
It could have been days, or it could have been seconds. 

All Hyunjin knew was that it felt like an eternity, and in that eternity, he had cried out, sobbed out, screamed out all of his guilt, and all of his regret. The weight on his palms grew lighter, and at first he thought he may have been delusional enough to have imagined it, but gradually, the weight reduced. The darkness receded from the glaciers in the distance, returning to its place in the sky. 

The painful pressure on his shoulders gradually evaporated, and Hyunjin fell back on to the water, exhausted and drained, both physically and emotionally. He watched the shadows recede into the sky, and saw the stars begin to appear once again. The dancing green lights began to glow once again like curtains that were unfurled across a black canvas, growing rapidly until it covered the sky completely; until the sky was a mass of softly pulsating green with tiny hints of violet. 

It was a serene sight, and Hyunjin felt supremely at peace. 

The image of himself appeared above him, and Hyunjin slowly lifted his aching body into a sitting position, only to be recieved by a warm smile and an outstretched hand, a complete shift in the previously harsh demeanour. 

Although his judgement would have advised him otherwise, Hyunjin took his replica's hand, standing as the glow of green on the ice and water grew brighter. 

"Your love for your kingdom stands firm." He was told, as a halo of gold began to glow at his feet, little sparks beginning to float up above his head. 

"You would've known that, you feel my emotions after all."

Hyunjin's replica nodded. "Indeed I do, but as all things, it had to be tested." The figure in front of him began to shift into something he didnt recognize, a being of light with features that were barely discernable.

"You are a true king, Hyunjin," the voice told him. "Despite the pain of your past. You are on a track towards light now - a path of light and love. You have done well, especially as you serve towards a greater war now, one to save your people and all 5 kingdoms. You are braver now than you've ever been."

The light wrapped around his body like a shroud, a stark difference from the abundance of darkness he had been seeing just a few moments back. As his eyes adjusted, the magic slowly faded, bringing him somewhere new. He was faced with the 7 people that had grown comfortably familiar to him, with a warm feeling of rebirth and new love in his heart, having left behind all his regrets within the darkness of the sky itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Hyunjin has to face himself and the demons of his past. So let me just give you a little bit of the inspiration here:
> 
> First of all we get a little insight into Hyunjin's backstory - the kind of king that he's been, maybe he wasn't really the best until he met Seungmin.
> 
> The chapter was a literary take on what I feel it would be like to confront your inner demons, all your guilt and your regrets. To come to terms with yourself and the voices in your head and to endure it and make it through once you've forgiven yourself for it.
> 
> If you're familiar with Greek mythology, you might see the resemblance with the myth of Atlas, holding up the weight of the world, or the weight of the sky in most renditions. This was totally intentional, I love that myth and like most things in this story, I drew my inspiration from the tales of mythology. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this one! Chime off in the comments, there's lots more to come!


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